


The Curator

by Harthad



Series: The Curator [1]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), DCU, Doctor Who (2005), Stargirl (TV 2020), Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, Gen, Kidnapped Barry Allen, Kidnapping, Multiple Crossovers, Mystery, Please Don't Hate Me, Psychological Torture, Torture, look it's not that serious lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:36:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 41,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28407108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harthad/pseuds/Harthad
Summary: A mysterious museum opens up across space and time featuring long-lost exhibits of animals extinct, forgotten and uncared for... presented all in the name of education. What will happen when the Curator sets his sights on the superheroes of the multiverse? Team Flash, Supergirl, and the Doctor and her fam must race to save Barry Allen before he ends up permanently on display... but they might get more help than they bargained for from the newest members of the JSA.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West
Series: The Curator [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2128659
Comments: 18
Kudos: 27





	1. Three Surprises

Far away across space and time, a man opened a window in the fabric of the world. He took a glance into the other side, surveying the pollution and dirty city in disgust. He tapped his golden pocketwatch in the pocket of his tailored suit, heaving a sigh as the time stared back up at him. He turned around on his heel, surveying his own world: the better one, of polished marble and gold flakes, of grandiose columns and high vaulted ceilings. Of statues, stained glass windows, and his pride and joy: museum exhibits.

The Curator surveyed them all with a keen look in his eye. He snapped his pocketwatch closed, waving goodbye to his favorite and most prized exhibit of them all: the Wooly Mammoth.

“Goodbye, old friend,” he said before stepping through to the other side. “I’ll be back before you know it. You won’t be lonely for long.”

The window slammed shut behind the Curator, leaving only blankness and silence in its wake. But if someone had looked closely at the Wooly Mammoth in question, they would have seen a large, fat watery tear drip from its eyes onto its trunk and splatter on the marble floor below.

But no one did.

***

The morning of Barry Allen’s kidnapping, he ran from CC Jitters into STAR Labs with three croissants (himself, Iris and Caitlin), eight coffees (Nash, Joe, himself, Iris, Cisco, Caitlin, Cecile, and Ralph) and one chocolate glazed donut (also Ralph).

“Alright, my man!” Cisco grinned as Barry crossed the threshold, punching a fist in the air as he stopped the stopwatch. “Record time, as usual.”

“You say that all the time,” Barry complained, even though he was smiling as he plunked down the breakfast for everyone to take their own. He grabbed his coffee, eyeing Cisco. “Regardless of if I make it or not.”

“Hey, trust the process, okay?” Cisco shrugged, taking his drink and making a face that he imagined was suave and chill, but really only made him look like a duck. “There is a magnificent reason for everything we do.”

“And if there isn’t, Cisco is sure to invent one,” Caitlin chimed in, earning a half-smile from Joe.

“Can we tell him now, please?” Iris asked, leaning over to grab her coffee and kiss her husband. “Hey, babe.”

“Hey,” Barry said softly, handing over the third croissant. “Hey – wait. Tell me what, exactly?” he addressed everyone else.

“What, like it’s not to keep the team well-fed?” Ralph smirked. Cisco waved a hand at him, settling down at the computers.

“Ha Ha, very funny. No, Ralph, why would we only send Barry out to get breakfast every single morning this week if there weren’t some grand scheme behind it all?”

“Then spill,” Barry instructed, sipping his coffee and taking the morning slow, for once. “Because you all owe me big time by now.”

“Oh,” Iris turned to him, stepping away so they were at arm’s length. “I’m sorry — who invented Flashpoint and broke time back in 2018?”

“Yeah, and who was it who created Savitar and nearly broke time by trying to stop him from destroying the world?” Caitlin asked innocently. Barry groaned, setting his coffee down on the desk.

“Come on, guys, not now —“

“Also, the Multiverse,” Nash interrupted, throwing some piece of equipment from hand to hand. “Remember the Multiverse? Oh, right, no — because we’re down to three Earths now.”

Barry buried his head in his hands. “That wasn’t just me that time —“

“How about literally all the times we’ve been kidnapped because of your enemies?” Cecile asked, holding up her phone. “So much so we’ve had to install an app on all our phones to alert you which takes up so much more space I could be using to hold pictures of the baby —“

“Don’t forget Gorilla Grodd,” Joe said. Barry sighed, looking over at him. Joe only shrugged.

“What? He was kinda your fault too.”

“Hey, and while we’re listing Barry’s Flash fails,” Ralph interjected, catching the metal from Nash. “We could just skip the past five years and go straight to his personal ones from this year alone —“

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Barry said, stretching up. “I’ll owe you all coffee for the rest of my life, fine. Can we get this roast over with?”

“Oh, it’s over,” Cisco grinned, jabbing a button on the keyboard. “And so is this city’s crime rate, baby!”

A blue screen burst out from the computers, revealing blueprints and schematics of…

“That’s just STAR Labs,” Barry said, confusion wrinkling his face. “I don’t understand, what does this have to do with —“

“It is not just STAR Labs,” Caitlin interrupted, leaning over to draw up more plans from the computer while Cisco sat back in triumph. “It is a complete reimagining of our meta-human prison complex: only now we will not house prisons —“

“We’ll house fully equipped rehabilitation centers and mental health care for metas and non-meta-human criminals alike,” Cecile took over. “It’s a trial run of what the CCPD hopes to roll out in their prisons next year. And if all goes well —“

“Then Central City, and the rest of the world, will be able to see there are alternate solutions to the American prison complex after all,” Iris finished, her eyes bright. “If STAR Labs and the CCPD can do it, why can’t they?”

Barry gaped at her, staring at the schematics.

“Wow,” he murmured. “This is — I don’t even know what to say.”

“Amazing?” Cisco offered. “Brilliant? Genius? Should I grab a thesaurus?”

“Genius,” Barry agreed, still reeling from the shock. “Amazing. How did you all come up with this?”

“Bar, it was your idea,” Joe said, peeling away from the wall and joining everyone at the comms. “Something you said last month or whatever, after the election—“

“You wished that there was more of a way STAR Labs could help,” Ralph said. He shrugged, gesturing at the computers. “So we did. Sure, the concept and ideas were Cisco’s, but all of us helped. I’d just like to think it was my optimism that pulled everyone together. Right, guys?”

Barry shook his head. “Why did you keep this a secret? I mean — this is fantastic. I would’ve loved to help —“

“It kinda became a pet project,” Iris admitted, glancing back to the plans. “We didn’t want to reveal anything until we were sure of what we had. Call it selfish, but –“

“Usually when we tell you, a supervillain winds up hearing about it too,” Caitlin said, hugging her clipboard close. “We wanted to minimize the damage as much as possible before plans were underway.”

“Fair enough,” Barry admitted. “I still don’t understand what this has to do with my breakfast speed tests.”

“Solar energy, baby,” Cisco said proudly, jabbing at another button on the console. The schematics were immediately replaced by a power grid next to an icon of the Flash running, lighting being harnessed into wires and the electrical power. Barry drew a hand across his face.

“Wait, so — you’ve been making me get breakfast so you can harness my speed so you can power STAR Labs?”

“Not just the lab,” Cisco grinned. “You’ve literally gone faster and faster each day this week that we have enough energy to power the entire city.”

“Okay, but isn’t that what Zoom and DeVoe and all the others did, siphoned off my speed force energy?” Barry said, some of his complaint from earlier coming back into his voice. “Why are you guys turning into supervillains?”

“It hasn’t affected you yet, has it?” Caitlin arched her brows. Barry frowned.

“No, but —“

“Then it’s entirely safe,” she said, her eyes bright. “Frost and I have been doing the same thing, with her ice. Neither of your resources are finite anymore, Barry. You’ll always have the speed force, and Frost will always have her powers. And, by combining them both, STAR Labs could be on completely green energy by next August. Central City by 2023. Then, the world.”

“Okay,” Barry finally conceded, taking a step back. “Okay, that is really all amazing. But —“

“Always a but,” Nash grumbled. Barry threw his hands up in the air.

“Forgive me for being a little skeptical! I mean — this all sounds too good to be true. Honestly, it’s great. But do you guys have contingency plans in place, a backup, anything?”

“I know it all sounds a little impossible,” Iris said. “I was just as worried as you at the beginning, trust me. But don’t we deserve a little hope, after all 2020 has given us?”

Barry looked at her, really looked at her. At the way Iris’ eyes shine with hope, with understanding, with relief. He let loose a huge sigh, leaning back against the comms.

“Alright,” he said, and allowed himself to smile back at her. “Alright, yeah. I’m in. What’s the first step?”

Iris smiled. Cisco let out an audible sigh of relief, while Cecile threw her arms around Joe and squealed, who only laughed. Ralph and Nash high-fived. Caitlin did the same to Cisco, and at this point, Barry couldn’t help but laugh as Iris pulled him into an embrace. Her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him.

“Catching the bad guy.”

“Hey, are you guys sure I’m at the right place?”

Less than a minute later, Barry was standing outside an old, decrepit shell of a once-great steel factory on the outskirts of Central City. Plastic bags trundled across the littered ground like tumbleweed, joining empty beer cans and remnants of poverty. Barry had searched the whole place in a second. Nothing stirred except for the whistling of the wind. Creepy, but okay. He could live with creepy. As long as nothing popped out and --

“Yep, this is the right place alright,” Ralph popped up. Barry let out a noise of protest, trying not to let on that he’d been scared, but failing incredibly.

“Dude, what the hell –”

“Thought you didn’t scare easily anymore?” Ralph asked, inspecting some dirt on his suit.

“You could’ve given me some warning –”

“I did, you knew I was coming with you, so –”

“Guys, there’s nothing here,” Barry said, tapping his comms. Ralph made a face, but he didn’t deign to return it. “Is this going to be another surprise?”

“What? No,” Cisco laughed back at STAR Labs. “Why would we spring two surprises on you in one day?”

“Three,” Ralph added, shrugging. “STAR Labs reno, green energy, and...”

“A fake bad guy,” Barry sighed heavily. He faced Ralph, crossing his arms. “Alright, what’s really going on here?”

“Uh, there really was an energy signal coming from this way, Bar,” Caitlin interjected, frowning at the computers. She tapped at the keyboard, bringing up the blueprints again. “Something in the upper north-west quadrant. Can you check again?”

“Seriously, Barry,” Iris added. “They really did see something.”

“Alright, I’ll check again,” Barry said with one last shake of his head. He grabbed Ralph, running to the highlighted area. Only more concrete, more dust, and a whole lot of nothing greeted them. Ralph and Barry exchanged looks.

“There really is nothing here,” Ralph said, scanning the area while Barry took another lap around. “What exactly were we sent here to find?”

“Some meta that has a talent for disappearing, I guess,” Cisco said. “Look, guys, I’m reading the signals loud and clear – there’s a huge amount of energy coming from right in front of you. It’s like – a line in the sand.”

Barry bent down, inspecting the ground. “There’s just dirt,” he said, then paused as something caught his eye. Ralph handed him a pair of tweezers. He picked up the brown strand of thick fur, carefully depositing it into a bag.

“What is it?” Ralph asked. Barry just shrugged.

“Cat hair? Still. Might be worth taking a look at.”

“So our meta can transform into a cat?” Ralph met his eyes.

“Maybe?” Barry suggested. “I’ll take this back to the lab, you take one last look around –”

“Bravo, gentlemen!”

Ralph and Barry whipped around at the voice, immediately on guard. A squat, balding man wearing a bow tie and peacoat clapped his hands, the strange sound ringing out and echoing against the emptiness.

Back at STAR Labs, Cisco and Caitlin froze.

“Barry, who’s there?”

“Who are you?” Barry asked. The man tutted, slipping his hands into his pocket. He drew out a business card, tossing it to Ralph.

“It’s no matter who I am, Mr. Allen,” the man said, taking out a small device which he clicked and it beeped, opening up a wide window into another world directly behind him. Through it, Barry could see a grand marble hall filled with wide windows and... were those animals?

“Congratulations on tracking me, by the way,” the man continued, taking out yet another device, which he snapped back with an even louder click. How big were this guy’s pockets? “Not many do, but the ones that do usually don’t end up leaving me alive. You are fortunate I have bigger plans for you.”

“Bigger plans?” Barry echoed.

“You own a museum?” Ralph asked, squinting at the business card.

“Barry, get out of there,” Cisco nearly strangled the microphone in front of him. “We don’t know this guy’s deal, you have to –”

“Hold on,” Barry said. “Maybe we can talk. Like you said, rehabilitation, right?”

“Yeah, but –”

“Did you leave this?” Barry held up the bag of fur. The man grimaced, glancing down to his shoes.

“Must’ve tracked it on when coming to this Earth. Sorry about that.”

“See?” Barry spoke into comms. “He says he’s sorry.”

“Oh, about the fur, sure,” the bow-tied man said, finally raising the black device in his hands. “Simply can’t be helped. But not about this.”

Barry flinched as a white light nearly blinded him, throwing up his hands to stop whatever came next. He turned, about to run to grab Ralph, expecting to feel the familiar spark of the speed force as he reached out. Instead, he felt nothing at all.

“Guys,” he said, his fear spiking. “Guys, my speed. I can’t –”

“Oh, they can’t hear you, Mr. Allen,” the man said. Barry turned to look. The man was putting the black device back in his pockets, withdrawing meta cuffs instead. The world around them was frozen: Ralph in mid-stretch, mouth open in a soundless yell for help. Barry’s comms crackled and hissed, falling out and clattering to the ground. Bow-tie man raised the cuffs with a smile.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Allen. You’re never going to be in danger ever again.”

The man clicked the blinding device, and everything went dark. Barry collapsed as the world unfroze around him. Ralph reached out as the man grabbed Barry, the window into another world snapping shut behind them both. He could have sworn the Bow-Tie Man waved goodbye just before the window closed. Ralph stared in shock, unable to manage any words as his comms roared back to life.

“Ralph? Ralph, what’s going on? Where’s Barry? What happened?”

Ralph stepped forward gingerly, bending down to pick up the small crime scene baggy off the ground. He turned in a slow circle, searching for any sign of the window, the bow-tie man, and the Flash.

“Guys,” he put a hand up to his ear, stilling for the moment. “I think Barry’s been taken.”


	2. Taken

STAR LABS

TEN MINUTES LATER

“Taken?” Iris demanded once Ralph was back at the lab. “What do you mean – just taken?”

“Barry’s gone?” Joe asked, staring down at the computers in front of him. Cisco twirled a pen between his fingers, staring into space. The Flash suit tech was dark and dormant. No vitals, no anything blinked back up at them.

“He can’t be gone,” Iris said, breaking the sudden silence. She shook her head. “We’ve done this before, guys – remember? Cisco – you had to have some new tracker in his suit –”

“We were going to fix it this week,” Caitlin said quietly. “It was going to be the third surprise.”

“Didn’t even have a chance to get it up and running before this,” Cisco spat. He spun slowly in his chair. “And now –”

“Well, we’ve gotta find him,” Ralph said, his eyes bright. “He has to be somewhere on any of the Earths, or in space – hey, we can get Supergirl in on this! She has, like, x-ray vision and stuff –”

“See, that would work,” Cisco said, standing up abruptly. “If Barry was on any of the Earths.”

Iris glanced at him. “You think he’s – somewhere else?”

“His suit was reprogrammed to show him anywhere in the multiverse. And if it’s not showing anything...”

A hush fell over the room once more. Cisco leaned up against the console, tightening his hands around the now useless tech and computers.

“I’ll phone Wally,” Joe said, his heart and voice heavy. Iris sank into a chair, determined not to crack so soon.

“If he can’t help us find Barry, then maybe he can help protect the city while he’s gone.”

“So what, are we just giving up?” Ralph asked, unable to stop his frustration from leaking out. “We get another speedster to take care of Central City, and that’s it?”

“Look, we don’t know where Barry is, or even if he’s alive,” Cisco snapped.

“He’s alive,” Iris interrupted. She raised her head to look Cisco squarely in the face. “I know that at least. I would’ve felt it. But Cisco’s right – we need a backup plan. We need to keep living. Star Labs construction, solar and speed energy – we need to continue all of it. It’s what Barry would want.”

“Fine, you guys do whatever science-y thing you need to do,” Ralph muttered, already on his way out. “I’m going to take another look at the crime scene, see if there’s anything else –”

“Wait, Ralph,” Caitlin stepped up, slowly depositing her gloves into the nearest trash can. “That fur you found – I think I’ve identified it.”

She handed over her tablet. Ralph glanced down at the results, then back up to the scientist.

“You can’t be serious.”

“It’s results, Ralph,” Caitlin said, a hard edge entering her voice. She swiped up, and a blue projection of a wooly mammoth burst out onto the floor. “I couldn’t fake them if I wanted to.”

Iris stood up so fast no one was sure if she had ever moved.

“Why would Barry’s kidnapper have a Wooly Mammoth?”

***

Barry groaned, blinking back sleep and darkness from his eyes. He ached all over, his head pounding the most. He hadn’t felt this bad since his hangover after his bachelor party – and he was sure this was no bachelor party. He stared around, slowly walking forward to test the limits of his containment. He reached out and wrapped his hands around solid bars in the darkness, leaning his head against the cool metal. Either he was imprisoned again, or a prank between Team Flash had gone very, very wrong.

What could he remember? His head hurt too much to try and think. Barry massaged his temples, exhaling into the cool air. Something to do with STAR Labs, him and Ralph investigating some old building. Then... darkness. Nothing. Just pain, concentrated in his forehead. Barry winced, sliding down the bars until he was sitting again. What would Oliver do? Assess the situation, take control. But everything hurt like it hadn’t in years. It was so much easier to just lay down on the ground and –

What did he remember? Barry’s head snapped up as he opened his eyes against the sudden influx of memories. He’d been kidnapped, taken right out from under Team Flash’ noses. He remembered some balding man, looking too old to harm a fly, taking out some kind of device and... blinding him? Was that why he couldn’t see anything, couldn’t remember anything? Guilt started to seep into his pores. If he hadn’t been so helpless, so skeptical of a threat, he might’ve been able to prevent all this. Whatever this was.

And Iris. Oh god, Iris. He’d just gotten her back. They had just found each other again, only for him to be ripped away right when things were looking up. The raw pride in her eyes as she spoke about what STAR Labs could be, what the whole world could learn from them. He hated he wasn’t there to see it. More than anything, he hoped they wouldn’t stop all that just to rescue him, wherever he was. Barry buried his head in his hands, allowing himself one moment of pity, then got to work.

What could he see? Nothing, really. But he could feel, and he could touch, and he could taste the air around him. Somewhat sterile, free from any putrid odors. He wasn’t wearing his Flash suit anymore. His kidnapper must’ve taken it. Where could he have gotten his clothes? This was his own flannel, his t-shirt, his khakis and socks and shoes. The thought of anyone spying on him and Iris in their apartment gave him the chills, much less the thought of anyone breaking in and taking their things. But the evidence was literally on him. But Barry knew he couldn’t concentrate on that for long. Instead, he focused his energy on channeling his speed, on trying to phase through the bars.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It felt as if his connection to the speed force wasn’t simply gone, but it had never existed in the first place. Barry Allen was an entirely normal person again, and he hated the feeling. Hated how feeling weakness made him feel like a fool, like he had no control. Hated feeling like he was helpless. Then again, normal people were never kidnapped. And he was far from helpless.

“Hello?” Barry called out into the dark. No answer. “Hello?”

He leaned against the bars, determined to try again and again. Even if his voice faded before he had an answer, or if he never got a response. He had to try. And if there was anything Barry West-Allen was good at, it was summoning up the courage to try.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness in the hours remaining, he saw the edges of more bars and more cages around him, more prisons for unknown creatures, humans or anything he could imagine. Rows and rows of containers surrounded him and seemed to stretch on for ages and ages, an endless labyrinth-like corridor of the unknown. And if Barry was able to see anything beyond his small bubble, he would know that he was not alone.


	3. Introductions

“Rise and shine, my dears! We only have a few hours before the families come! Up and at them!”

Bright sunlight burst through the glass windows, illuminating the rows and rows of empty glass exhibits centered in sunny marble hallways and grandiose stairways with velvet carpeting. Barry had been woken up nearly an hour earlier, a simple meal tray shoved into his hands as he was kicked into the strangest line of prisoners he’d ever seen. People wearing clothes from all different centuries, eras, and Earths stood around him. He glanced over his shoulder and met the eyes of someone dressed in peasant clothes that looked centuries old, and looked ahead of him to see a half-human, half-cyborg with a red glowing eye. Wait – he looked familiar.

“Wells?” Barry hissed. “Harry?”

Cyborg Wells turned around, immediately shushed him, then faced forward. The line moved slowly, leaving the dark prisons one step at a time and taking the stairs into a completely different change of pace. Barry gaped at the tall ceilings and chandeliers, the polished front desk and the welcoming, cheery signs.

WELCOME TO THE MUSEUM OF THE WORLDS!

“This isn’t your regular prison, Flash,” Cyborg Wells grumbled in front of him. “It’s hell on Earth – any Earth at all.”

“How are you even here?” Barry hissed back. “Nash absorbed all the Wells when the multiverse exploded –”

“Not me,” Cyborg Wells replied gruffly, turning the corner with the rest of the line. Up ahead, Barry could see some sort of... food court?

“I was stuck here. It’s a pocket dimension, exists out of time and space,” Wells continued. He held out his tray to a cafeteria person, waiting while they threw white slop onto his waiting tray. “Worse than my Earth and all of them combined, if you ask me.”

“So, high school,” Barry said, giving the cafeteria person a tight smile. He looked up, only seeing someone covered by a red robe. They had two holes for eyeholes, and stared blankly. Barry’s smile drooped away, and he rushed to catch up to Cyborg Wells again.

“Seriously, you have no idea where we are?”

“Keep your voice down,” Wells commanded, glancing from side to side. “But no, I don’t. Woke up one day same as you, down in the cells. Hardly any memory, then it all came rushing back.”

“The man with the bow tie,” Barry said, grabbing a spoon. He stuck it into his slop, then reconsidered. Wells lowered his fork.

“No one eats the slop, Allen.”

“West-Allen,” Barry corrected quickly. “Iris and I got married.”

Wells let out a grunt. “Mazel tov.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t eat the slop.”

“Okay.”

Barry followed Wells to a table near the front doors, craning his neck to catch any sign of movement outside. But there was only an eternal brightness.

“You get your assignment yet, Flash?”

Barry turned back around, confusion already written all over his face. “What?”

“Your assignment,” Wells repeated like that would clarify things. “Your exhibit.”

“My... what?”

Wells shook his head, pushing his tray aside. He sucked in a deep breath, crackling and loud.

“I wish you luck, Barry. You’re going to need it.”

“Wait,” Barry tried as Wells got up, leaving his tray behind. “Wait, did any of the other Wells make it here too? What do you mean by exhibits –”

“Order, order please!” A booming voice rang out above the chaos. Barry glanced up to the second floor at the top of the stairs, shielding his eyes from the sun. His stomach tightened, his nerves jangling with a tight fear.

It was the Bow Tie Man. His kidnapper.

“Thank you!” Bow Tie Man clapped his hands together, just once. “Thank you all. As I am sure you know, we have a very busy schedule ahead of us today. We are set to dock in National City to open our doors for the children of National City Public Schools, who I’m sure are overjoyed to have us visit them. As such, I expect everyone to be on their absolute best behavior, as I am sure everyone will be. And! Last but not least: everyone, please give a warm welcome to our newest exhibit: The Flash, Mr. Barry Allen.”

Bow Tie Man extended his hand, gesturing to Barry with a wide smile on his face. The rest of the crowd turned to face him, breaking out in listless applause. Barry sat still, frozen like a deer in headlights. He wasn’t sure what he had to be worried about more: his missing speed, the fact that Bow Tie Man knew his real name, or being called an exhibit.

What exactly was going on here?

“I am proud to announce Mr. Allen will be the inaugural exhibit of our Earthly Superheroes, soon to be joined by so many famous others,” Bow Tie Man beamed with pride. “I trust everyone will make him feel right at home.”

Barry shot to his feet, nearly tripping over his unused tray of food. “Can someone tell me what is going on here?! What do you mean, exhibits –”

“Ah, everyone remembers their first time entering the Museum,” Bow Tie Man chuckled, discreetly waving to a guard, who emerged from the shadows and clamped a steely hand down on Barry’s wrist and dragged him to the center of the crowd. “How confused, how disconcerted you all were once. But no worries – as it passed for all of you, so it will pass for Mr. Allen.”

“Just – please,” Barry said, trying to keep his voice steady and free from worry. “Can you tell me what is going on?”

“What is going on?” Bow Tie Man laughed, then spread his arms wide to gesture at their surroundings. “My dear boy, you should be proud. I have chosen you to join my famous Collection! You, out of so many others, have been picked to grace these walls with your fantastic presence, serving as an exhibit to teach the children of Earth Prime and so many others the rich and storied history of your superhero past.”

Bow Tie Man’s shoes clacked against the floor as he took a step in to Barry, his breath hot on his face.

“It means, Barry Allen, that you are mine forever.”

***

“Isn’t your new home just wonderful? Ah! I imagine you’ll feel right at home here.”

Bow Tie Man led Barry and his two guards up the winding staircase after morning announcements and breakfast concluded, leaving everyone else to wander around as they pleased. Or at least, that was what Barry thought they were doing before he saw the empty plinths and nature enclosures. A Union soldier held the glass door open for an African king before joining four other soldiers in their own glass case across the way. Glass doors slammed shut one after the other, the snaps echoing loudly in what became the loudest silence Barry had ever heard. Purple gas filled each closed container right after the other, the people inside becoming as still as statues. His sick horror grew and grew until he nearly felt overwhelmed by it all.

The Bow Tie Man shoved him forward into a glass case. Barry stumbled, his mouth agape as he looked to see what he’d been trapped in. He ran his hand over the darkened STAR Labs computer systems, now just as useless as a prop replica. The door behind him shut with a click.

“Isn’t it perfect?” Bow Tie Man squealed. “I researched for hours and hours, you have no idea the WORK I put in to create this!”

Barry banged a fist against the glass. “Let me out!”

“Ah,” Bow Tie Man seemed to consider this, then shook his head. “No, I don’t think so, Mr. Allen. See, why would I go to all this trouble of securing one speedster only to let him do as he pleased? Now, please be prepared. Your speed will return to you as soon as I press this button –”

He raised a sleek looking device that reminded Barry of a remote control. His stomach did a nasty tumble as the Bow Tie Man continued.

“But only for an eighth of a second. I suggest you do as much as you can then, for your sake. And before you ask, yes, the glass is impenetrable by sound and by speed. You are not getting out of here, Mr. Allen. You may try – but you will fail.”

Barry banged his fist against the glass two more times, his frustration and fear peaking.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Oh,” Bow Tie Man grinned widely, the corners of his eyes crinkling at the edges with joy and glee. “For the children, of course. Have a good day, Mr. Allen. Three –”

Barry looked down at his hands as the speed force hummed in his veins again. Orange lightning crackled in the air.

“Two –”

He raised a hand, leaping into a run. No glass was absolutely impenetrable. He had to get out of here as fast as he could, by any means possible –

“One.”

Bow Tie Man squealed with joy as the purple gas descended on Barry and the STAR Labs exhibit, freezing everything inside in place. He couldn’t have asked for a better still-life: the Scarlet Speedster himself, frozen mid-stride with that ever-heroic look of determination set squarely on his face. He’d done it. He’d begun his magnum opus after all.

He hummed to himself as he locked up the case, settling back at the top of the stairs as the doors down below opened. A smile grew on his face as thousands of children and school groups poured in, their laughter and gasps of delight filling him up from head to toe. He spun the keys around his hands, catching sight of three adult heads down below: a blonde-haired white woman in a light blue coat, accompanied by an older, greying white man in a green cardigan, a young Indian woman wearing a leather jacket, and a younger Black man with his hands in his pockets as he looked casually around. Their British accents rose above the general hubbub. The Curator’s smile only grew wider. He gave the blonde woman a wave as she glanced up to him, the curiosity in her eyes sharp as can be.

“Welcome, Doctor,” he called. She smiled back.


	4. Signals

STAR LABS

THAT DAY

“I think I’ve got something!” Cisco cried. “Got a hit for a bow tie man and oh boy, is it a doozy –”

“What do you mean, a bow-tie man,” Wally asked, laughing. Ralph pinned him down with a death stare.

“This man was terrifying, kid. He overpowered Barry in seconds.”

“Alright,” Wally conceded, holding his hands up in the air. “Alright, who is he?”

“Apparently, the most terrifying beast in all of history and time and space,” Cisco said grimly. He swiped up on the computer, projecting the holograms for what seemed like the millionth time that day. A smartly, if oddly, dressed man with floppy hair and a bow-tie appeared in blue, rotating slowly.

“He’s called the Doctor,” Cico proclaimed. “And everywhere he goes, planets die.”

Another tap and a click, and footage of exploding and dying suns, stars, planets, and spaceships appeared one after the other. Ralph grimaced.

“This looks pretty nasty. Just, uh, one catch, Cisco?”

“Yeah?”

“That looks nothing like the guy who took Barry.”

“Ah, but there you are wrong again, my friend,” Cisco hit the last button, replacing the exploding planets with rows and rows of twelve elderly (and three young) faces. “Apparently, this sicko can also change his face.”

“Sicko?” Wally shrugged. “He looks like a grandpa. A nice, kind, grandpa –”

“Who abducted Barry,” Cisco finished, blowing the air out from his cheeks. “Whatever we’re dealing with here, it ain’t nice. How do we know he hasn’t changed his face again, trying to avoid detection? It’d be nearly impossible for us to track him.”

“Nearly,” Ralph echoed, tilting his head. “Nearly, you said it yourself! So we can still catch this guy. Come on! What’re we waiting for? Run your tests, get your diagrams, whatever! Come on, Cisco, get it together!”

“Wait!” Nash threw open the doors, panting. Cisco, Wally, and Ralph turned to face him as he slapped a picture down on the console.

“Check your pronouns,” he said, breathing hard.

“Dude, where have you been?” Cisco asked, bemused.

“Research. That’s not the Doctor,” Nash interrupted, jabbing a finger at the photo. “She is. And she’s not the one who took Barry.”

“So we’re back to square one,” Wally said. Ralph snapped his fingers.

“No, look. Wait, Nash, how do you know this ‘Doctor’?”

“He doesn’t,” Iris said, also entering STAR Labs completely out of breath. “But I do. And so does Barry.”

She plunked down a wedding registry, sending papers and everything else flying. Iris slammed a finger down, directing everyone’s attention to one name in particular.

“The Doctor came to our wedding,” she said. “We have her address. We can track her down –”

“And she can help us find Barry,” Cisco completed, a real smile growing on his face for the first time in hours. “Iris West-Allen, you are a m-f genius! I could kiss you right now!”

Iris held up her hand. “No!”

“Fine!” Cisco roared, grinning as he got to typing. “Maybe later! We’ve got a Doctor to find.”

***

FIVE HOURS EARLIER

THE TARDIS

“Tell me again where we’re headed?” Yazmin Khan asked, peeling away from the TARDIS console to speak to the Doctor, who had herself stuck underneath with all the wires and fixtures again. She wheeled herself out, flinching as something sparked up above. Yaz folded her arms across her chest.

“And why you didn’t think to repair the TARDIS last week after the wooly mammoth run-in?”

“We’re following a distress signal, Yaz, I thought I made that quite clear,” the Doctor said, disappearing back underneath. Golden sparks flew out in the air again, forcing Yaz to take at least a few steps backward. “Pass me the socket wrench, will ya?”

“Sure,” Yaz muttered, handing the wrench over. “So – this distress signal. I thought it was just a bunch of jumbled up words? Incoherent. Nothing worth anything.”

“A distress signal is always worth something,” the Doctor said back, her mind still stuck on the repairs as she lifted the wrench to adjust something just right. Yaz was right – she really should’ve completed this weeks ago. But no time like the present, right? Wasn’t that one of Graham’s favorite sayings, anyhow?

“Doctor!” Yaz bent down to face the woman, snapping for her attention. “The only reason I’m asking is because –”

“We’ve stopped moving,” Ryan yelled from the other side of the room. The Doctor winced, finally rolling out from underneath the console and putting her tools aside. “The TARDIS – she’s stuck in space.”

“We’re never stuck,” the Doctor argued back, fiddling with the controls up top. She banged the screen, swinging it around to take a glance outside. Only stars and space reflected back at her. She grimaced, scrunching up her nose in thought.

“We’re sometimes stuck,” Graham said, joining the fam at the landing as he put away his newspaper. “Just last week, didn’t we freeze in that asteroid belt in the twenty-fifth century?”

“Nearly froze to death there, too,” Ryan added. Graham nodded his agreement. “You’re saying we weren’t stuck there at all? We could’ve left any time we wanted?”

“We could’ve,” the Doctor said, earning a loud protest from the trio. “If it hadn’t been for the wooly mammoth that chewed through the heating system, rendering us all entirely ice blocks.”

“Speaking of the wooly mammoth,” Graham added as the Doctor went around to flip a few switches. With a groan and a wheeze, the TARDIS flickered in and out of sight in the great vastness of space. The Doctor turned to him with a bright grin that faded as she found all three of the fam staring at her accusingly.

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb,” Yaz regarded her with a doleful expression, “We know you’ve been avoiding the distress signal from two weeks ago. The one that came out of the pocket dimension.”

“What are you afraid of, doc?” Graham asked, just as worried and as calculating as Yaz. “We know when you hide things from us. What, been doing this for three years now?”

“We can help you, too,” Ryan said. “Let us help you, Doctor. Please.”

The Doctor hung her head, exhaling heavily. “Fine.”

She leaned over and twisted a knob next to the receiver and telephone. There was static, then a hiss, and then a child’s voice flooded the TARDIS speakers.

“I don’t know where I am. Mummy told me to stay put, but I don’t know what to do. It’s dark, and I’m cold. When are you coming, Doctor?”

She pressed another button, and the transmission was replaced by another, then another, then another. All were children crying out for help, all variants of the first broadcast, all in different languages and accents.

“These have been coming from all over the world, and all over space and time,” the Doctor said, her voice filling the silence after the last message faded into nothing. “All from different eras, times, places, everything. There’s no rhyme or reason to any of it.”

“But they all want your help,” Yaz finished quietly. The Doctor nodded.

“Okay,” Ryan cleared his throat. “So – we help them. You said it’s just one signal, right? This pocket dimension has to be somewhere we can get to. It’s the TARDIS!”

“Ryan’s right,” Graham said. “We have to find them first, Doc. Take it one step at a time.”

“We can only find this pocket dimension when it appears in time, in a concrete place,” the Doctor said, but made no move to start the TARDIS again. “It needs somewhere to dock, to land like a ship. And by then it might be too –”

“Hey,” Yaz interrupted, stepping closer to her. She put her hand on top of the Doctor’s, looking up into her eyes. “Hey, we can’t think like that, right?”

The Doctor sniffed loudly, then turned a dial on the TARDIS console to the left. The ship began to move again, spinning forward in the darkness of space to the only bright spot it could hold onto.

“Right,” the Doctor said, her hand twitching. She adjusted her coat, then dared to smile at the Fam.

“Who’s ready for a trip to a museum?”


	5. Recollection

“So you’re sure we’re in the right place?” Graham asked as he exited the TARDIS, frowning at the guidebook he held in his hands. “The Museum of the Worlds?”

“That’s what the TARDIS said,” Ryan mumbled as he caught up to Graham, glancing around the crowd of happy, eager excited schoolchildren. “None of these kids look like they’re in distress.”

“Or that they need saving,” Yaz chimed in, joining the pair with the Doctor right behind her. “Saving from boredom, most likely.”

“Was this all a ploy, Doc?” Graham asked, snapping the guidebook closed. “Faking that distress signal, then springing some history lesson on us?”

“What? Never!” The Doctor replied, actually a little offended. “We’ll just have to explore a little, that’s all. See the sights, breathe the air –”

“Get schooled,” Ryan grumbled. “Why are we in a museum when we easily could’ve just gone to all the places these statues are from?”

“The Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe...” Yaz read out the list from the directory in the middle of the floor. “Ryan’s right. You’re sure this is where you heard the signal from?”

“Positive,” the Doctor said, glancing up to the second floor. She smiled and waved at a man wearing a bow-tie before he turned away and went up the stairs. She followed his progress, tracked the glint of sunlight on his keys as he rounded the corner, and went upstairs.

“Superheroes?” Graham laughed at the directory. “Look, a new exhibit opened today. A statue honoring somebody called... the Flash?”

“What?” The Doctor whipped her head around, crossing to look at the directory for herself, a frown jumping to her face. “Did you say the Flash?”

“Yeah,” Graham said, before being shoved aside to make room for the Doctor to examine the sign. “Why, you know him? The real one?”

“Not as well as I would like,” the Doctor admitted. She extracted her sonic from within her pockets, scanning the large plastic box with a careful eye. “Or at least not in this time. Went to his wedding last year, remember?”

“No, that was your friend Iris’ wedding, Doctor,” Ryan said, giving her a very strange look. But the Doctor wasn’t listening.

“A museum is the last place on Earth he would want to be trapped,” she murmured, buzzing the directory with her sonic.

“It’s not really him,” Ryan laughed. “ I mean, it’s just a statue.” He paused as the Doctor looked at him.

“Right?”

“Let’s find out,” the Doctor said. She stood up and led the group to the stairs, her three companions trailing behind her like a trio of ducks. Yaz hovered at the top, taking one last glance down to look at all the children one last time. She frowned, her eyes drawn to movement in the shadows. A flash of red. A hooded robe.

“Yaz?” Ryan ducked out from the next room, gesturing to his friend. “You coming?”

“Yeah,” Yaz said after a moment, pulling away from the banister with one last glance back down below. “Yeah, I’m coming.”

***

The first thing Graham noticed about the Superhero Exhibit was that it was just so... empty.

“Isn’t a museum supposed to wait to open to the public after having everything in place?” he asked, unfolding his guidebook with a sigh and taking another look at the details. “Even pocket dimension museums?”

“Yeah, where are all the superheroes?” Ryan asked, turning around in a circle, though he stuck close to Yaz and Graham. “These are just empty cases. What gives?”

“Maybe the statues haven’t been delivered yet,” Yaz suggested. “Maybe there was a mix-up with the lorries.”

“You think pocket dimensions get statues delivered on lorries?”

“Well, where else would they get them, Ryan?”

“Hey,” Graham said from the back of the hall. “They’ve got one up. Look at this. It’s him. It’s the Flash.”

The Doctor, Graham, Yaz and Ryan all assembled in front of the glass case, staring up at the lifelike replica.

“He looks familiar,” Yaz said, crossing her arms over her chest as she examined the statue.

“He looks like he could run out of here if he wanted,” Graham said, walking around the case to do a full 360. “Hey – look. Ryan, come ‘ere. His eyes follow you.”

“We haven’t met him yet, have we, Doc?” Yaz asked the Doctor, who had stepped up to the glass and had pulled out her sonic screwdriver.

“Hm?” she put her tongue between her teeth as she concentrated. “I told you. Iris West-Allen’s wedding, last year.”

Yaz scoffed. “I think we would’ve noticed if the Flash was at Iris’s wedding. Would’ve made it a little more exciting.”

“Oh, we had to leave before the Nazis.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Yaz choked. The Doctor nodded sagely.

“Got a distress signal halfway through Kara Danver’s song, remember? Anyways –“

“You and your distress signals,” Yaz grumbled. “Wait – so your friend Iris. I think we’d remember if the Flash was at her wedding?”

“No, her husband is the Flash,” the Doctor said nonchalantly, glancing over to the open doors as her sonic screwdriver buzzed and hissed. Yaz did a double-take, pointing up at the statue.

“What – that’s Barry Allen?”

“Did I not mention?” the Doctor asked, all wide-eyed and apologetic. “Yaz, keep up, please!”

She stood up as fast as she could, staring at the readings from her sonic open-mouthed. Slowly, she dragged her gaze from the sonic back to The Flash’s face.

“That’s Barry Allen,” she whispered.

“Um, yeah, Doc, you said that already,” Graham said, coming back around to join her. The Doctor shook her head, putting her hands up in the air.

“No, no – that’s Barry Allen. Not a statue, not a replica, not wax – that’s the real deal. Look! At these readings. Heart rate, pulse, oxygen, breathing – it’s all there. It’s him. He’s alive. That’s actually him.”

“The real man,” Graham breathed. They all looked up at Barry’s face, stunned.

“Okay,” Ryan began. “So – that’s not a statue. How is he so still? How is he –”

“Not dead?” Yaz suggested. Ryan nodded. The Doctor tightened her mouth into a thin, hard line.

“I don’t know. But if this is the real Barry Allen –”

“Then how many other exhibits down there are real, too?” Graham asked, his voice turning soft. All four looked away from the frozen Flash, their eyes drawn to the glass cases on the first floor.

“This isn’t a museum,” said the Doctor, a note of finality entering her voice. “It’s a prison.”


	6. Naps

“Just about to lock up, friends! We’ll see you all tomorrow!”

Evening twilight had descended upon National City and the Museum Of The Worlds, ushering the last of the crowds and schoolchildren out. The Curator waved and waved and waved goodbye as the last crossed the threshold and scurried back to wherever they had come from this morning. He turned around, clapped his hands, and opened his mouth to instruct the guards to start releasing the exhibits when he stopped short.

“Hiya,” said the Doctor, who brandished her psychic paper and was flanked by Yaz, Ryan, and Graham on both sides. “You must be the Curator, yeah? The one in charge?”

“I am,” he said, utterly bemused as he straightened his bow tie. “I didn’t expect you here for at least a few more weeks, Doctor.”

“Well, you know me,” The Doctor laughed, catching up with the Curator as he started to cross the museum in long, wide strides. “Wouldn’t miss a grand opening for the world. Or – any, world, that is really. And you’ve done this quite a few times by now, haven’t you? Opening the museum all over. How do you do it, exactly? Pocket dimension or something?”

The Curator stopped in his tracks, his bemusement slipping away as easily as if he took off a mask, revealing cold eyes beneath. He leaned into the Doctor. She remained still.

“I know you don’t take kindly to threats,” said the Curator quietly. The Doctor stiffened. “So I will make myself clear. I own everything in this museum, Doctor. You would do best to leave it alone.”

“Yeah, and what about every _one_?” Ryan asked, glancing at Graham and Yaz for acknowledgment. “You’ve got one of our friends trapped up on your second floor there.”

“He has a wife, and a whole city to protect,” Yaz added. “You’re just going to take that from him?”

“My dear girl,” the Curator smiled nervously. “Education is only my greatest, and simplest goal. My museum exhibits are but temporary. They will be returned to their proper times in the near future.”

“And when will that be?” asked the Doctor. The Curator held up a hand.

“Please, Doctor, come back tomorrow and your questions will be answered –”

“What, when you add Supergirl to your collection? The Dreamer? Or the Martian Manhunter?” The Doctor hissed, her eyes blazing. “You must be here in National City for a reason, and whatever it is, we will discover it –”

“You want my reason?” The Curator arched a brow. The Doctor raised her chin. The Curator sighed, and beckoned them all forward up the stairs, back into the Superhero exhibit.

“You will have it,” he said, gesturing to a guard. They unlocked Barry’s door as a green gas descended from within. He woke up coughing, eyes watering, everything blurry.

“I am returning Mr. West-Allen to his own time and place,” the Curator pronounced. Barry looked up at the figures that were swimming before him, struggling to make sense of the world around him.

“Iris?” he mumbled. The Curator squatted down next to him.

“Yes, that’s right,” he said, adopting a kindly tone. “You’ll see her soon, young man. See, Doctor? One day of education for the children, willingly consented to by Mr. West-Allen here, and he is returned to his precious STAR Labs and family.”

“Nap,” Barry mumbled. The Curator patted his cheek warmly.

“Some are quite confused when they exit the Museum,” he explained, standing back up. “Guards, please take Mr. West-Allen back to his rooms and see that he is properly fed and cared for while we wait for Mrs. West-Allen to arrive. And – my telephone, please.”

“Hold on,” the Doctor said, stopping the guards before they took Barry away. “Why not let us take him back? Right, fam? We have a ship, we can use it –”

“Ah, no,” the Curator interrupted. He snapped his fingers, and Yaz watched as the hooded figures took Barry out. “Time-space travel would ruin him in this condition, I’m afraid. Nasty little side effect of a painless procedure. Surely you understand, Doctor.”

“I don’t,” Graham said. “Why not just ask the Flash to speak at an event for you? Instead of – locking him up like some sort of prize-winning duck?”

“As I said, the entire operation is completely consensual,” the Curator said, a hard edge forming to his tone. “The Flash is in less danger here than he would be at a public speaking event – in case you didn’t notice, but there were no villains, no one targeting the museum. No one was in danger due to the Flash’s presence, quite simply because no one knew he would be here. And my goal is to keep casualties to a minimum and the lawsuits just as low. It is a win-win on all sides.”

“We’ll check in on STAR Labs later, just to make sure you’ve delivered on your promise,” the Doctor warned. The Curator only smiled, clasping his hands together.

“I only hope Mr. West-Allen will be sleeping soundly by then, Doctor. He deserves it after such a wonderful, beautiful day of learning and children’s smiles.”

“Of course,” she said back, her smile tightening. “Yaz, Graham, Ryan – let’s go.”

“But, Doctor,” Yaz began.

“No buts!” The Doctor led the way back down the stairs and into the TARDIS, which was waiting for them as always. “Like Barry, I think the best we can all do right now is take a good nap.”

She waved goodbye to the Curator, hanging out of the TARDIS doors as she began to de-materialize. The Doctor closed the doors behind her.

“Doctor, there is no way Barry’s seeing his family tonight,” Yaz warned. “The look in that man’s eyes when he told you he owned everything –”

“It wasn’t a nap,” interrupted Ryan. Everyone looked at him.

“He said ‘nap’. The Flash. Or... Barry, whatever. But... what if he meant  _ kid _ -napped?”

“Either way,” the Doctor said, dashing to the console. “Our check-in with STAR Labs is long overdue. Hang on tight, fam.”

She slammed a button down, and the TARDIS disappeared from the museum grounds. The Curator lowered his farewell, turning on a dime.

“Get everyone back to their quarters,” he instructed the guards coolly, already on his way to his own office. “Tell me when Mr. Allen is awake and lucid. I have business to attend to.”


	7. Calls

Barry didn’t know when he woke up next: only that it was dark, and cold, and the opposite of the museum. He groaned, sitting up and trying to ignore the stiffness in his joints. It seemed like barely a minute ago he’d been preparing to run, to try and get back to Central City and Iris and everyone else –

And then what? His memory was fuzzy, hazy at best. Familiar faces floated just on the edge of his mind’s eye, but a minute of thinking about who they could be brought him no closer to the truth. His head swam with echoes of laughter and smiles ricocheting off the walls. He pressed the bottoms of his palms into his eyes, trying to figure out what was real. A sharp clicking entered his mind, becoming louder and louder with each passing moment.

“Mr. Allen.”

Barry turned, uncovering his face. The clicking stopped as the man stopped walking in front of his cell, his polished black shoes resting on the floor.

“Bow-tie man,” Barry said, earning a laugh from the man. He thought about Cisco, and what he would say about such a horrible villain name. He probably wouldn’t even let Barry say it out-loud.

“Please,” Bow-Tie Man chuckled. “Call me the Curator. I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced.”

“I didn’t think kidnappers particularly liked to introduce themselves,” Barry shot back. “And it’s West-Allen.”

The Curator sighed. “Very well, Mr. West-Allen. If that is how it will be, I will leave you for tonight. The tour and your phone call will have to come another day.”

“Wait,” Barry sprang up from the floor, moving closer to the bars. “You’re letting me have a phone call? To who?”

“Why, I should think that would be obvious,” the Curator replied. He produced a cell phone from his pocket, slipping it from one hand to the next as a guard unlocked Barry’s cell. He walked out cautiously, eyeing the red-robed figures. The Curator handed him the cell phone with a smile.

“To your wife, Mr. West-Allen.”

***

“The museum is an entirely different creature at night, is she not?”

The Curator led Barry through the grand main hall of the Museum, now lit entirely by lamplight. Their footsteps echoed across the marble floor, everything as quiet and as still as can be. Barry had reached for the speed force, anything to make it appear, but nothing. The Museum had to have power dampeners in the floors – either that, or the Curator had given him something to take away his powers. His daze had faded to a dull roar in the back of his head, and he was even able to concentrate on what made up his surroundings. Several of the larger-sized exhibits passed him on their way downstairs: mournful tigers, saber-toothed lions and bears, among other aliens and pre-historic animals. He looked back as a woolly mammoth walked past, slow and elephant-like, its trunk dragging slightly on the floor.

“You have a woolly mammoth?” He asked. The Curator clapped his hands together.

“I have everything here, Mr. Allen. All are animals or species that would go extinct, were it not for my generosity in housing them here. The dodo bird? The woolly mammoth? All were saved by my hand, and my hand alone.”

“So then what am I doing here?” Barry asked, throwing a glance over his shoulder to the woolly mammoth as it walked out of sight.

“All in due time, Mr. Allen. All in due time... ah. Here we are.”

The Curator pushed open the doors to the Superhero exhibit with a loud creak. Barry stopped just on the edge between the landing and going inside, shaking his head.

“No. No way are you putting me back there –”

“Imagine a world,” the Curator began as if he hadn’t even spoken, spinning around to face Barry with undisguised glee in his eyes. “Where everyone is at peace. With themselves, with each other, with the world itself. Where children no longer have to learn about the history and their past from textbooks or recordings, but directly from the survivors themselves.”

Barry crossed his arms, still not moving from his place just outside the room.

“And you’re going to tell me the only way to achieve that is with your fancy little museum?”

“Precisely! You have hit the nail on the head,” the Curator steepled his fingers together, then waved Barry inside for a closer look.

He didn’t move. The Curator let out a heavy sigh, apparently giving up for the time being.

“Here, Mr. Allen, you never have to fear for your life again. You will never be in danger again, never risk your family or friend’s lives again. You can live in comfort, in peace, knowing the world is in good, safe hands.”

“Last I checked, you had me locked up in a prison cell,” Barry shook his head, turning to leave. Two red-robed guards stepped out of the shadows, blocking his way down the stairs.

“Only for the time being,” the Curator said, tapping a toe against the floor. “Only because you are dangerous. Volatile. Angry. You remind me of another superhero I once knew –”

“Look, can you spare me the lecture,” Barry interrupted, reluctantly turning away from the guards. “Just get to your point.”

“Oliver Queen,” the Curator said. Barry laughed.

“Sure. There’s no way Oliver would ever talk to someone like you –”

“After the Green Arrow died, his estate was more than willing to begin conversations about a memorial here at my museum,” the Curator continued. “I admit, I did not tell them all the details, but our negotiations do seem optimistic. I hope to have a special exhibit for Mr. Queen set up at the end of the month... right next to Central City’s finest.”

“Everyone will know it’s me,” Barry said, trying to remain calm and casual even in the face of abject dread. “They’ll know the Flash is missing from Central City, they’ll know –”

“Will they?” the Curator asked. His voice was light and airy, his eyes locked onto Barry’s. “From what I hear, they’ve already gone ahead and replaced you. Central City has no need for a second speedster when it can have Kid Flash. But the children of the world do need an education.”

“You can’t educate kids by stealing people and forcing them to perform for you,” Barry clenched his fists. “Or taking animals from their real habitats and –”

“And why not?” The Curator interrupted, his voice ringing out like a bell. “Your human race has been responsible for ninety-five percent of the extinction of creatures around the world for centuries, Mr. Allen. By rescuing them, I am only doing the world a favor. They are safe, and they are comfortable. Just as the entire world will be.”

“What do you mean?” Barry asked slowly, taking a step inside. One of the guards prodded him forward.

“My Museum is about to become the largest donor for every significant charity, non-profit and organization all over the globe. The homeless are set to receive thousands of dollars in their bank accounts, under their mattresses, in their belongings. Private prisons are about to receive grants to incentivize mental health care and prioritize rehabilitation. Terror, world hunger and war will soon be images of the distant past... which they can then learn about here.”

“And the catch?” Barry leveled his gaze onto the man. The Curator shrugged.

“No catch. Just finding the finest exhibits this world – and many others – has to offer.”

“Including me.”

“Starting with you,” the Curator insisted. “You are my prototype in many ways you have yet to learn about, Mr. Allen.”

“So what,” Barry rocked back on the heels of his feet. “You want to heal world hunger, stop wars, all of it. Why am I here?”

“So I can explain myself to you,” the Curator said. “You and your friends or the Time Bureau would have locked me up ages ago if you knew what I was doing here. In case you didn’t notice, I cannot work in a prison.”

“Yeah, well, neither can I.”

“Here, everything is so much clearer,” the Curator said, gesturing to the wide, sunny windows and pristine glass cases. “Solving all the world’s problems doesn’t sound too bad, does it? Cannot the means justify the end results? I had friends on other Earths, just like you – who insisted the opposite. But here – can’t you see what I – what w _e_ – can accomplish? What is the price of a life when there is so much more in store for everyone else in the world?”

“Everything,” argued Barry. “What if it were yours for the world, your life that could solve everything in an instant?”

“It isn’t,” the Curator said simply. “But it is yours.”

“What?”

“Your phone call, Mr. Allen,” the Curator reached into his pocket, drawing out his cell phone again. He threw it over to Barry. “You have one minute. Call your wife. Tell her you are alive, and well, and fine in National City. Or you will die.”

Barry swallowed. He held out the phone for the Curator to take back.

“No.”

“I won’t ask again.”

“I won’t do what you want,” Barry said, his eyes flashing. “I call Iris and tell her I’m fine, just so she can visit your Museum in twenty, forty years and see me here? The guilt would crush her. I can’t do that to her.”

“You will do as I say,” the Curator repeated. One of the guards handed him a steel rod. Blue lightning crackled from the top, breaking the stony stillness around them. “Or you will die.”

“Fine,” Barry spat. He took a step closer, bridging the gap between them. “Kill me. But if I’m so big a part of your plan like you said, then you won’t be winning anything.”

“And what about Wally West?”

“What about Wally?”

“Would you rather I take him, instead of you? After you have gone the way of Mr. Queen, there would be no one stopping me from taking your brother in your place.”

Barry shut his eyes. The Curator started to smile again, his voice as sleek as a cat’s purr.

“I know your desire to protect the ones you love so well, Mr. Allen. It is what we most have in common. You would never let anyone else suffer in your place, would you? It is what I have come to count on.”

The tense silence between them stretched on for what felt like an eternity. Barry’s head began to throb again.

“Fine,” he exhaled. He held out his hand for the cell phone.

“Give it to me.”

***

STAR LABS

“I’ve called her ten times and she still hasn’t answered,” Caitlin said in as much frustration as possible crammed into her voice. She clenched her hands, twisting her face into a tired grimace. “And before I called her, I called every last possible house the Doctor was said to be found in the last fifteen years –”

“Maybe she’s on her coffee break?” Ralph suggested. “I mean, if she’s a doctor and all.”

“I don’t think interdimensional space-time-traveling beings take coffee breaks, Ralph,” snapped Caitlin. Ralph held up his hands in surrender, walking out of the room just as Cisco and Iris came running in.

“Put him on speaker mode,” Cisco directed, sliding into the desk chair in front of the computers. “Now! I gotta track his signal.”

“What’s going on?” Caitlin asked, getting out of their way as fast as she could. “Is it Barry?”

Cisco’s hands flew over the keys as fast as they could, finally hitting enter. A number popped up on the screen next to an image of fluctuating soundwaves.

“Barry? Barry! Can you hear us?” Iris leaned over to the comms. A crackling sigh echoed around the room.

“Yeah. Yeah, I can. Thanks, Iris.”

“Barry, can you tell us where you are?” Caitlin leaned over as well. Cisco turned his attention to the cell phone number, trying to bring up as many locations as possible under the same number.

“Are you hurt?” Iris asked, just as quickly. “What happened to you –”

“I’m fine! I’m fine, I promise. I... I tracked this meta to National City. I ran into Supergirl, and we captured him together. It’s fine.”

“Fine?” Caitlin echoed, exchanging a worried glance with Iris. “Barry, you were kidnapped. Your suit went offline. We thought you were dead –”

“Well, I’m not, Caitlin, so everything’s good. Guys – just trust me on this one, alright? I’m going to be okay.”

“When are you coming home?” Iris asked, urgency flooding her voice. “Just tell us what’s going on, Barry –”

“I’m – I’m just gonna stay with Supergirl for a week or two, they need my help at the DEO.”

“Do they need any assistance from STAR Labs?” Caitlin interjected. “We could be on our way in –”

“No!” The sound crackled and grated. Cisco grimaced, a bead of sweat forming on his temple as he entered in location after location.

“No, I – we’re good, I promise. You guys stay put. I – I love you, Iris, yeah?”

“I love you too, Barry,” she said, blinking. “But why –”

“Hey, and take care of Nora for me, alright? I love you guys.”

“Barry,” Iris said, gripping the computer so hard it could’ve ripped off in her hands. “Barry, Nora hasn’t been here for –”

Click. Silence descended upon the room once more. Cisco slumped back, letting the keyboard go.

“No location found,” he said. “It’s like the phone line didn’t even exist.”

“Why did he ask about Nora?” Iris questioned, stunned. “Unless his kidnapper has done – _something_ – to Barry’s mind, there would be no reason for him to...”

“Not our Nora,” Caitlin said quietly. “The NORA protocol.”

Cisco jumped back on the keyboard, running his hands as fast as he could. With two clicks he brought up the list of emergency procedures and protocols, projecting them in a flash. He turned to look at the two women beside him.

“We used everybody’s names,” he said. “Thought we’d never have to use them, so some of the acronyms are pretty stupid. Most are what Barry and I came up with after a late night. Felicity always complained about our lack of security, so we thought... why not make a list of emergency situations and assign random code words to them?”

“Except this one isn’t random,” said Caitlin, staring at the words written in holographic blue. “Nora –”

“No Offensive Rescue Action,” Iris read out from the screen. She shook her head, shooting a look at Cisco.

“You can’t be serious. When would any of us _not_ have to rescue Barry –”

“When he’s been compromised,” Cisco replied, not meeting her eyes. “Or worse.”

“No,” Iris argued, standing up. She hit a button on the keyboard and the protocol flew away without a sound. “No, we can’t accept this or – or whatever dumb protocol you two made up in the middle of the night to keep yourselves entertained.”

“It wasn’t just for entertainment, Iris, they're for real situations –”

“I don’t care, Cisco!” Iris yelled. “Not one of us predicted something happening like this. Barry’s clearly being held against his will, been told that something horrible would happen to us if we go after him – I can’t let him think we’ve given up on him either.”

“We’re not, Iris,” Cisco began, trying to sound as soothing as possible. “Do you see me giving up? Caitlin? There has to be some way we can reach this Doctor of yours, she can still help us –”

“Hey, did somebody say Doctor?” Ralph called from the hallway. He ran inside, jabbing a finger over his shoulder. “Because I think she found us.”

Right on cue, the Doctor, Yaz, Graham, and Ryan entered the computer room. The Doctor lit up at the sight of Iris, immediately going in for a hug.

“And who are all of you?” Cisco demanded, springing up from his chair. Graham waved.

“Oh – we’re her assistants. Don’t mind us at all.”

“We know where your friend is,” added Ryan. The Doctor stepped away from Iris, her eyes bright and determined.

“And we think we have a plan.”


	8. Chase

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for some light torture, sorry barry

“Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Allen,” the Curator said, unable to disguise the glee apparent in his voice. Barry stared at the darkened cellphone in his hand, his own pale and taut face reflected back up at him. He tightened his hand around it, head starting to throb once more, thudding in time to the Curator’s voice. The phone slipped from his hand, clattering on the polished marble floor.

“You’re wrong,” he mustered up, gritting his teeth against the sudden pain and anguish. “I will never work with you.”

He shoved aside the red-robed guards, flying down the stairs as fast as possible. He ignored the Curator’s protests from up above, pushed the guards and other exhibits out of his way as he sprinted to the great double-golden doors. Slamming his hands against the glass, he pulled at the handles until they turned his palms red. He threw a panicked look over his shoulder, watching more robed guards than he could count slink out from the shadows. Then, a shout:

“Push, Barry!” yelled Cyborg Wells. “Push!”

Barry kicked the doors open, running into the sunlight. Immediately he was confronted by glaring sunlight and blaring car horns, the sound of speeding traffic and irate pedestrians. He stumbled out onto the sidewalk, throwing a hand up to block the sun from above. People flowed past him without a second thought, either pushing him out of their way or ignoring him completely. He looked down at his hands. Why wasn’t his speed returning? Where was his connection to the speed force?

“Barry!” yelled the Curator as he walked steadily out of the museum. “Barry, you do not want to do this!”

Barry took off, not sparing even one glance behind him. He squeezed in between buildings, around dog-walkers and office workers, past policemen and away from as many men wearing bow-ties as he possibly could. His legs pumped and his heart beat faster and faster until he felt it stomping against his chest, his breaths turning ragged and slow and painful until he could barely feel his lungs anymore for the burn –

The world swam before his eyes, melting into a watercolor painting. He reached up for the first person he saw, mumbling a faint, _help me_. She shook his arm off and hurried on with her day. The world tilted and shifted, and suddenly the ground looked so much more inviting than anything else –

“Barry?” asked a sudden familiar voice. A woman with short cropped red hair and a badge that glinted in the sun entered his vision, sliding in and out of focus. “Barry Allen?”

“Alex,” Barry mumbled, fighting hard against the black spots that started to dance in and out of his vision. “Alex, help –”

“Ah, Director Danvers!” cried a voice, jolting every cell inside of Barry to full panic mode. He grabbed at Alex’s jacket, pleading.

_“Alex, tell –”_

“Thank you so much, Director – I’ve been looking all over for Barry here – hi, Mr. Allen here, yes, I’m Barry’s grandfather –”

“He never mentioned a grandfather –”

_“No –”_

“I’m on his mother’s side, we’ve only recently connected. I am so sorry for this – Iris has been worried sick, you know, something went wrong with the tests they were running at STAR Labs – It is just my luck you were able to find him –”

“But Central City is miles away from here – are you sure we can’t take him back to the DEO and --?”

“No, no, that won’t be necessary. Come on, son. There you go. Take my arm.”

“Alex,” Barry mumbled, doing his best to hold onto her as his vision faded. “Alex, wait –”

“You’re going to be alright, Barry,” Alex said gently, extracting his hands from her coat. “Kara and I will see you soon, okay?”

Barry slumped down, eyes closing shut as he slipped into unconsciousness. The Curator nodded at Alex, smiling slightly as he waved over two of his guards – now dressed in sleek business suits and dark veils. He took Alex’s hands in his as his guards picked Barry up and began walking him back to the museum.

“Thank you so much, Director Danvers,” the Curator simpered, leaving Alex to peer after the strange suited people and Barry’s... grandfather?

“It’s no problem,” she said, distracted. She had already brought up her phone and dialed Kara’s number before the elder Mr. Allen turned away. Alex watched him go, a nervousness beginning to writhe in the pit of her stomach like fearful snakes.

“Kara?” she said, once her sister picked up. “Kara, have you heard from Barry lately?”

***

NATIONAL CITY

THE NEXT MORNING

Kara Danvers always loved watching the sun burst out from behind the tall buildings of National City in the early mornings with the purple dawn. She seldom had a simple moment like this to herself these days, what with saving the city at least ninety-five percent of the day, working with the DEO the other two percent, and trying to keep up with her job and have a decent social life for the other three percent. Moments like this where she could just hold her tea and stare out at the sun ahead of her were rare any way you looked at them, and she tried to cherish them all. Kara breathed deep, her lungs filling with the fresh city air. She sputtered and coughed, turning away from the open window to choke in her own kitchen in peace. Still, something pricked at her conscious in the back of her mind. Alex’s call about Barry yesterday had been a little too weird for her liking, but when she’d gone ahead and called STAR Labs, someone who called himself Barry’s grandfather assured her that everything was okay. She glanced at her own dormant phone lying on her kitchen island, half-expecting a call. She didn’t even know Barry had a grandfather. It wasn’t like they ever really discussed family when they had to save the world. Still...

Kara jumped as her phone buzzed, cursing as hot tea splashed on her fingers. Hurriedly setting her mug down, she dashed to her phone and barely checked the caller id before picking up.

“Barry!” she answered, relief flooding her voice. “Barry, hey, what’s up? Alex told me she ran into you –”

“Heyyyy, Supergirl!”

Kara pulled the phone away from her ear, frowning. Barry seemed so... happy? And loud?

“Barry? Are you --?”

“Hey, Supergirl, listen, uh, I was wondering if I could come over for a bit? I think – think I might’ve left something at your apartment last Crisis –”

“Barry, you didn’t even come to my apartment last Crisis –”

“And my grandfather really wants to meet you, Supergirl! So, uh, yeah, it’d be super great if we could come over –”

“Well, tell me what it is and I’ll just fly it over –”

“No, listen – my grandfather is like a reporter, and he really wants to take your picture for this newspaper article he’s writing, and he thought it’d be super cool if he took some of you in your natural habitat and all –”

“Um, okay, but why --?”

“Great, see you in a couple hours, okay, byeee!”

Kara stared at the phone in her hand, her frown deepening. She shook her head, going to put her phone down when a thought struck her. She dialed Alex’s number, looking back out the window as her sister picked up.

“Kara?”

“Hey, Alex. Any chance you wanna have coffee at my place in a few hours?”  
  


***

“I did what you asked of me. Now let me go.”

Barry slumped over in his cell, dark circles ringed around his eyes. He felt weak and tired, barely able to stand if he wanted to. When had he last eaten? If only he’d had two bananas with Iris for breakfast the other day instead of one...

“As I’ve reminded you several times before, Mr. Allen: my work with you is not finished.”

A red-robed guard set down a metal tray of pancakes and cheerios and fruit, sliding it into Barry’s cell. He turned his face away, struggling to ignore the dreadful pounding in his head.

“Whatever you have planned, it won’t work. Supergirl will stop you –”

“Who? The same Supergirl who believes I am simply your kindly, doting grandfather? Eat, Mr. Allen. You must keep your strength up if you wish to see your friend today.”

“I won’t,” Barry closed his eyes and turned his face against the cold, metal bars. Anything he could do to try and stop the incessant drums in his head. “Do whatever you want without me –”

“Oh, but if I said you are coming along for incentive?”

“You haven’t hurt any of my friends yet –”

“How do you know that, Mr. Allen? Have you heard from them lately? Have you heard from anyone lately?”

“It’s _West_ -Allen –"

“Do you know the time, Barry? The day? The year?”

“Leave me alone!”

Barry stood up, throwing himself against the bars with a look of cold fury in his eyes. He stared down the Curator, silently working up the strength to chew him out. The Curator only nodded to a guard, who produced the blue lightning-tipped rod, and struck Barry through the bars. He stumbled and fell, unable to stop from crying out in pain.

“Eat your breakfast, Mr. Allen,” the Curator insisted, his voice made up of malice and menace entirely. “Then maybe you can tell me Supergirl’s true identity.”

Barry raised his head, clutching his side. “Never.”

The Curator checked his watch. He made a noise of agreeable surprise, then glanced back down at Barry.

“It appears you may even gain some of your speed back in a few hour’s time, Barry. Supergirl’s apartment is just far away enough. Might I remind you that your little stunt you pulled yesterday cost you valuable healing time and rest, and you will not be able to run away or anything silly like that due to the drugs that are now coursing through your system. I would suggest you use your time now wisely. Otherwise –”

The guard struck at Barry again. He twisted away, but not fast enough. This time, he didn’t scream. This time, he gritted his teeth against the pain, clenching hard and thinking of names, faces to fill the void instead: Iris, Cisco, Caitlin, Joe, Wally, Cecille, Ralph, Kara, Oliver, his parents...

He looked up again only to see the Curator had left him. Who knew where the guards were hiding. Taking one last look at the darkness outside, he dragged the tray over and began to eat.

And think of a plan.


	9. Warnings

“Supergirl!”

“Barry!” Kara laughed as she opened her apartment door to admit her best superfriend in the multiverse. She grinned and laughed as they hugged and pulled apart, quickly inspecting him from head to toe. Goofy, dopey smile, check. Flannel and jeans that looked like they’d seen better days, check. Flash suit... nowhere?

“Barry!” she hissed even as he walked over to her kitchen island, nonchalantly picking up a few of her things and inspecting them like they were the most interesting objects in the world. “Barry, why did you make me wear my suit if you weren’t going to wear yours –”

“I’ll explain later,” he whispered, winking gleefully at her. But Kara grabbed his shoulder, keeping him in place as she examined him with her x-ray vision. Her grip on his shoulder tightened, and she yanked him down to her level.

“Barry,” she hissed, injecting some steel into her whisper. His fake smile drooped off as fast as it could go. “Why does it look like you have a broken rib? And burn damage on your side? And –”

She stood them both back up fast, staring with horror at his face.

“Why do you look so tired?”

“Hello! Anyone home?!”

“Grandpa!” Barry spread his arms wide as he yelled, his grin already jumping back to his face as he went to help the Curator inside. Kara let him go with a faint noise of protest, reluctantly assuming her classic hero pose as she stared down this strange new man wearing a bow-tie. “Grandpa, this is Supergirl, we’re best friends –”

“Hello, my dear, it is lovely to meet you,” said the Curator, shaking Kara’s hand. She returned the favor with a slight smile.

“You as well, Mr. Allen. Where’s Iris and the rest of the gang? I would’ve thought they’d like to come over for lunch too –”

“Oh, they’re all otherwise indisposed, dear,” the Curator laughed gently. “What with their work in the lab and all, they’re much too busy to visit. I must say, this is a fine apartment you have here. However do you afford such a place?”

“Oh, I’m also a –”

“Superhero!” Barry interrupted, yanking his head out of the fridge. He smiled again, earning a confused and wary look from Kara, who suddenly tensed.

“Yes,” she said slowly, glancing back to the Curator as Barry ducked back to look inside the fridge. “I, uh, I help out the DEO a lot, in addition to saving the city.”

“Ah,” the Curator nodded wisely. “So, you must work with Director Danvers, is that right? Are you two close?”

“Oh, uhm, not that close,” Kara looked back at Barry, craning her neck to see what he was doing. Was that a pen he was holding? “Just – general work relationship, that’s all.”

“Work friends,” Barry added. “Like us.”

“Uh – yeah, just like us!” Kara smiled. The Curator smiled back, pulling out his cellphone. He placed a hand on Kara’s arm, who’s smile turned strained.

“Do you mind if I get your picture, dear? You and my grandson? It’ll be so terrific just having the two of you together –”

“Gotta have proof we were here,” Barry said, winking at Kara. He shut the fridge door and walked over to sling an arm around Kara’s shoulders. She shot him an extremely confused look, significantly weirded out.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, trying to keep her voice down.

“Never better,” Barry answered, his grin almost blinding. Then he looked directly into Kara’s eyes, his smile disappearing as fast as it had come.

“I won’t be able to run the marathon with you next week, Supergirl.”

“What?” Kara pulled away, now slightly scared. “We never signed up for a marathon, it’d be pointless –”

“Smile!” called the Curator, and Kara and Barry both looked at the camera. It flashed, clicked, and Kara grabbed Barry’s wrist as soon as their forced smiles were gone.

“Barry,” she insisted. “What. Is. Going. On?”

“We should go, son!” The Curator said. Barry waved his hand, and Kara reluctantly released him. “Next stop –”

“The museum!” exclaimed Barry. “You should really check it out, Supergirl, it’s so schway –”

“Schway?” Kara echoed, scanning the Curator for the first time. Normal heartbeat, normal... everything. She glanced back up at him, blinking at the sudden darkness in his eyes. His murderous expression as he grabbed Barry’s arm. Then he smiled, and it was gone.

“As I said,” the Curator said. “We should be going. Thank you for your time, Supergirl.”

“Of course,” Kara said, moving to close the door behind them. “Uh – anytime.”

Barry grabbed the wall, leaning casually against the doorframe.

“You know, you should probably check your milk,” he shrugged. “I think it went bad.”

Kara blinked. “I just bought a new carton yesterday –"

“Barry! Time to go!”

“Coming!” Barry called, slipping away from the doorframe. He held up his wrist, showing Kara his watch. It blinked twice. “Really. Check your milk.”

Then he was gone. Kara watched him leave, closing the door once he and the bow-tie man were safely out of sight. She leaned up against the wall, frowning hard.

“Alex?” she called. Alex slipped out from behind her bedroom wall, her handgun already drawn.

“That was the weirdest conversation I have ever had,” Kara shook her head, plunking down into a wooden stool. “With anyone. Period.”

Alex drummed her fingers on the counter top, looking between her sister and the door.

“Barry’s never mentioned his grandfather before. I asked Brainy to check the DEO records, but he hasn’t found anything yet.” She sighed, replacing her handgun in her holster.

“We’re right to be concerned, right? Like – that was weird.”

Kara put her head in her hands.

“I don’t even know what to think. It was like Barry was drunk, except he can’t get drunk, or maybe he was drugged with something, I don’t know, it was just so bizarre –”

“Tell me about it,” Alex agreed. “Almost like a cry for help.”

Kara shot her a dark look. Slowly, she walked over to the fridge, resting one hand on the door handle before pulling it open. Kara’s eyes went wide. Dread pooled in her stomach.

“Alex,” she said, almost breathless. “Alex, I don’t think that’s Barry’s grandfather.”

Alex pulled away from the countertop, coming to stand beside Kara. Her breath hitched as she looked inside the fridge.

Barry had written on every available surface possible with the pen he’d taken from the table. He covered up the door, the milk, the eggs, every square inch with the same three repeating words, and a location:

HELP ME KARA

504 LYNWOOD AVE

Kara bent down, grabbing a carton of yogurt. She turned it over in her hands, freezing as she read what Barry had written on the top. It was different from all the rest.

“Alex,” she began. “What’s at 504 Lynwood Ave?”

“A museum opened there recently,” Alex replied with a frown. “But why would –”

“Don’t come as Supergirl,” Kara read out-loud. “Or he will take you too.”

“Kara,” Alex said abruptly. She picked up the bunch of bananas from the counter, turning them over. Kara froze. “Kara, what Barry said about a marathon –”

“He was giving us clues,” Kara said, her chest tightening. She stared down at the bananas, reading the first one in her hands.

“No speed left except to write this warning...”

“Will kill Team Flash if he knows,” Alex murmured the second one. Kara looked up at her from the last banana.

“Help me, Kara.”


	10. Discoveries

“I’m in position, Alex,” Kara spoke into her comms, adjusting her glasses as she scanned the crowded sidewalk around her. It was the next day, and National City couldn’t be busier. She trained her eyes on the museum building up ahead, carefully picking her way around the pedestrians that buffeted her from all sides. Dressed in a simple cardigan, sweater and skit, she looked every inch the innocuous journalist she always was. Kara took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves.

“Kara,’ Alex’s voice sprang to life on her comms. “Kara, stop making that face.”

“What face?” Kara spun around, directing her attention to the tops of the buildings above her. “And where are you?”

“To your left. And it’s the face you make whenever you’re worried about someone –”

“Well, of course I’m worried about someone, Barry’s been kidnapped –”

“Okay, just try not to show it as much –”

“I am not showing anything –”

“Your bag, miss?”

Kara had arrived in front of the museum security post without realizing it. She smiled, opening her bag to show the guard. Nothing was out of place: lipstick, compact mirror, a few note pads and pens. Of course, she had her real weapons on her at all times. But this was a stealth operation, so stealth she would have to be. She smiled at the guard, all sunny and bright and completely disarming. He nodded, pressed the button, and let her through the doors. Kara snapped up her bag, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Alex,” she whispered. “Please tell me J’onn and Brainy are in position.”

“I am,” answered J’onn, telepathizing into Kara’s mind. She turned, her eyes alighting on the Black man lowering his newspaper as he folded it away and walked over to meet her. Kara reached up to hug him, scanning the floor around them. She broke away, confused as she took another glance around.

“I’ve checked the upper floors, and there was no sign of Barry or anything else,” J’onn said, trying to keep his voice down. Kara turned in a slow circle, dread starting to fill her up on the inside. There were no more glass cases, no more spots for statues, no more areas for taxidermized animals or archeological artifacts. Painters’ drapes covered every available spot Kara could see. J’onn moved them out of the way as two masked men walked by carrying a ladder and buckets of paint.

“Excuse me!” Kara ran after them. One turned to face her, confused.

“Excuse me,” Kara said, catching up right away. “But – there was a museum here just yesterday, wasn’t there?”

The painter shrugged. “Don’t know of any museum, miss. Just know we were called in to do some work this morning.”

Kara thanked them for their time, slowly turning back to J’onn. Her brows drew together as she looked up at him.

“How could an entire museum disappear in one night?” she hissed. Together, they began walking out. J’onn raised a hand to the guard as they passed. “And why would it still have security the next day?”

“I don’t know, Kara,” J’onn said lowly. “Unless it was never a museum in the first place.”

Kara stopped short, spinning around to face him on the sidewalk. Alex ran up to them from the crowd.

“What is it? Did you find anything?”

“It’s gone,” Kara said, nearly stunned into silence. “It’s like it was never here.”

“But this is 504 Lynwood Ave,” Alex said, blinking in confusion. “We double checked the records –”

“I don’t understand,” Kara took off her glasses, rubbing at her eyes. “The museum was here yesterday, Barry wrote that address on my fridge –”

“Did he leave any other clues?” J’onn asked. Kara took a deep breath.

“Only not to come as Supergirl, because his kidnapper would take me too,” she said. “And apparently kill Team Flash as well – who knows the danger you all would be in –”

“Kara, this is serious,” Alex cut in. “If this man overpowered Barry and took away his speed, then who knows what he could do to you –”

“I know that, Alex!” Kara said. “I know, trust me. It just – ugh, it kills me not having anything more to go on here –”

“Did you call for backup, Supergirl?” Brainy’s voice crackled over comms. Kara looked up, putting a finger to her ear.

“No? Why, who’s there?”

“Team Flash is currently running up the sidewalk in front of you, accompanied by an alien being and three strange humans with remnants of space-time energy clinging to them –”

“Kara! Kara, hey!” yelled Cisco as he sprinted up the sidewalk, dodging people as best he could with the large, bulky metal machine he held in his arms, Caitlin, Iris, Ralph, the Doctor, Yaz, Graham and Ryan right on his heels.

“Woah, what is all of this?” Kara asked, blinking in surprise as the gang surrounded her. “And who are you?”

“Doctor!” said J’onn warmly, going in for a hug. “It’s been ages.”

“Cisco, what is that?” Alex demanded, eyeing the machine in his arms, which he set down on the sidewalk with a loud clank. He withdrew a remote control from his pocket, starting to fiddle with the buttons and controls.

“I call it the Barry-o-tron,” Ralph interrupted with a smile. Cisco shot him a look, and he shrugged.

“Look, what else do you want me to say? Oh, it’s to track Barry in the wake of being kidnapped, doom and gloom –”

“Wait, you two know each other?” Iris glanced between J’onn and the Doctor, who both grinned.

“Since my early days on Mars,” J’onn said proudly. “It’s a shame such dire circumstances have always served to unite us.”

“Fortunately, we can lock onto Barry’s kidnapper’s signal using this,” Cisco said, then did a double take as he caught Kara’s miserable look.

“What is it?”

“Cisco, the museum is gone,” she said. Cisco glanced across the street to the building, pointing as his smile slowly slipped off his face.

“But it’s right there –”

“Pocket dimension, remember?” the Doctor interrupted, shoving her hands in her pockets. “That signal we latched onto must’ve been the museum leaving for another spot.”

“What, so it’s a flying museum?” asked Yaz, looking up into the sky. “Surely people would’ve seen that?”

“Not if it goes the same way as the TARDIS,” said Caitlin heavily. “Or if it used some sort of projection technology –”

“But then Barry could be anywhere,” Iris stepped in. “And we’re right back where we started.”

“We are not,” interrupted Brainy, who burst out from the crowd to join them. He held up his tablet, revealing a profile and a passage of text. Kara took the tablet in her hands, frowning.

“The Curator,” she read, then enlarged the picture, showing it to everyone else. “This is him. This is the guy who was with Barry.”

“Says here he’s a humanitarian philanthropist,” Brainy read out-loud. “Wants to eradicate world hunger, poverty, and... replace superheroes with real initiatives to benefit everyone.”

“Believes in education for all, and for children to learn of their past and present through new interactive, life-like exhibits,” Kara scrolled down, stopping on a colorized photo. She tapped it, showing it to everyone else.

“He took this of me and Barry yesterday,” she said. “How could this already be here? How could any of this information already be here?”

“Yeah, when I searched for a bow-tie man the other day, all that came up was one of her previous incarnations,” Cisco said. The Doctor nodded.

“We’ve forced his hand,” she said, grim. “He knows we’ll be looking for Barry, so he tells the public his museum is completely safe, completely fake. How can he have the Flash when he’s done all these amazing, wonderful things for humankind?”

“We need to contact every other superhero we know,” Kara said tightly. “We need to stick together, protect each other. If this Curator gets his hands on anyone else –”

“Um, hold on,” Cisco interrupted. “Why can’t we just round up everyone and go rescue Barry, huh? Stop this Curator from doing anything else to anyone else –”

“He’s making us the bad guys, Cisco,” Kara argued. “If we rush in there, guns blazing, with all the superpower behind us, he’s just going to give Barry whatever he gave him yesterday, and he’ll seem perfectly fine. There won’t be any clues Barry can give us if we walk right into this museum man’s trap.”

“Museum Man,” Cisco muttered. “Rolls off the tongue better than Curator.”

“We are not calling him Museum Man,” Iris held up her hand, putting an end to that right away.

“We need to find out where he’s going next,” Alex said. “Who his next targets are.”

“I think we know already,” Brainy said, taking the tablet from Kara and typing as fast as he could. “Right... ha! Here.”

He handed back the tablet. Kara squinted, then frowned.

“Blue Valley, Nebraska? What could possibly be there?”

“Not our Nebraska,” Brainy warned. “Blue Valley, Nebraska of Earth-2.”

“There are other Earths still? And he can go to other Earths?” Cisco asked, a little faint. “Who the hell is this guy?”

“More importantly, how do we stop him?” Iris questioned. “We can’t stand around all day debating when Barry’s life could be in danger –”

“Oi!” called the Doctor. Everyone turned to find her waving out of the doors of a blue police box. She waved everyone over, gesturing inside.

“This will be the way to get Barry back. My ship can travel anywhere –”

“In time and space,” finished Yaz, with a grin. “Operation interdimensional galactic rescue mission is a go.”

Kara lingered just outside the doors beside Iris.

“You know,” she began. “If you want to stay behind –”

“Kara,” Iris leveled her gaze at the other woman. Kara threw her hands up into the air.

“ _Not_ because you’re a liability or anything like that. But because I think there’s – just some piece of the puzzle that we’re missing here. I know Barry’s enemies are usually from the future, but – don’t you think he would’ve said something about that by now?”

“You think this Curator is from the past?” Iris asked. “Barry’s past.”

“Or anyone’s past, not just his. I think we’ve had too many super-secret organizations show up in the past few years without any warning that we should try and get smart about investigating them.”

“Then why not Alex, or J’onn, or Brainy --?”

“Because I think this Curator is going for us next,” Kara lowered her voice. “And as much as I hate to admit it, Iris, now that he has Barry, he’s only going for superheroes and meta-humans. You and Cisco –”

“Did somebody call my name?” Cisco yelled from within the TARDIS. “Because I am never leaving this ship, ever!”

Kara suppressed a sigh. “I was going to say you and Cisco should stay behind. But since that’s not an option anymore...”

“Kara, I get it,” Iris said, smiling slightly. “Really, I do. But we’re all part of Team Flash, just like your team, and how the Doctor has hers. I’m coming. We can do intel on the way, and whatever we find out, we can use as a group to save Barry and anyone else the Curator has. Trust me, Kara. It’s going to be alright.”

Kara watched her enter the TARDIS, exhaling deep past the lump in her throat. She glanced back over her shoulder at the museum façade, now empty of anything that made it real. She tightened her hand into a fist, whispering a short plea into the wind.

“Hang on, Barry. We’re coming.”


	11. Blue Valley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the Museum docks in Blue Valley, Nebraska, Courtney Whitmore & friends are all too eager to get into another mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> minor spoilers (without much context) for dc's stargirl ahead, you have been warned! :)

Blue Valley, Nebraska was peaceful at the best of times and held dark secrets at its worst. Courtney Whitmore knew the sleepy little town at both times, and she wasn’t sure which she leaned towards the most herself. As she hurried down the sidewalk to run to school, Courtney quite liked the peace and quiet that came from not having to defeat several supervillains in one sitting before she even got to where she was going. On the other hand, she missed the excitement, the thrill that came with solving the problem, with saving the world, with working together with her friends. The ISA was done for and gone, good riddance. Courtney couldn’t have been more happy, or more proud of what she, Yolanda, Beth and Rick had accomplished. They had beaten the bad guys! Still...

Courtney had been ready for the next challenge straight away. But when that hadn’t come, she had fallen back into her school work and helping Pat and her mom and Mike with anything that came up, and waited. She was still waiting, and waiting was starting to feel like a chore. She still wanted to find the new members of the JSA, but she felt herself start to agree with Pat that they couldn’t all be in Blue Valley. That had been earlier today, though, at breakfast. Anything Pat said at breakfast sounded right, even if Courtney disagreed with him. But she’d grabbed her black duffle bag just in case he was wrong and she was right, which happened more often than he liked to admit.

“Courtney! Hey, Courtney!”

Courtney turned as Beth Chapel ran down the sidewalk towards her, her Dr. Mid-Nite goggles stuck squarely on her face. Courtney had been glad that they’d managed to be repaired so quickly, but she held her tongue in preparing to tell Beth to take them off. They were in broad daylight on their way to school, for chrissakes! But Courtney knew by now that Beth couldn’t exactly be deterred; the grin she sported spoke volumes.

“I am so glad I caught up with you before school,” Beth squealed, taking out a flyer from her pocket. “Look. At. This!”

“A new museum opens in Blue Valley today?” Courtney asked, reading the flyer. “Where did anyone get the money for this?”

“I dunno, wouldn’t your mom know?” Beth asked, practically gushing with delight. “Flip it over. Read what they have for exhibits!”

“Exhibits,” Courtney muttered, but did what Beth said. “Wait. They have a superhero exhibit?”

“Isn’t that so great?!” Beth enthused. “I was thinking we could go there after school – take the rest of the team of course –”

“Wait,” Courtney stopped walking, forcing Beth to stop, too. “Look at this. They have a new exhibit all about the Flash! He was part of the JSA, just like Starman and everybody else! Maybe we could learn more about the JSA’s history and everything –”

“And maybe find the next Flash,” Beth squealed. Courtney returned her grin, but tempered it with a bit of skepticism.

“Beth, they can’t all be in Blue Valley –”

“And why not? We were!” Beth looked up ahead and waved at the gathering crowd in front of Blue Valley High. Yolanda and Rick both walked up, joining them both.

“Court, did you hear about this new museum in town?” Yolanda asked. Courtney smiled and nodded.

“Yep, Beth literally just told me about it!”

“I try and keep up with the news,” Beth just shrugged. “But it has a superhero exhibit!”

“What?” Yolanda arched her brows. “Seriously?”

“We’re thinking we can go after school and check it out,” Courtney said. Rick stepped in front of the girls.

“Wait. Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean – we just got done saving the world from supervillains.”

“Yeah, but that was months ago now,” Courtney sighed, moving past Rick and forcing him to keep up with the team as they entered their school hallway. “What are the odds of someone else from the ISA showing up in a museum?”

“Rick might be onto something here,” said Yolanda. “Maybe we should be cautious. I mean, what if it’s a trap?”

“Come on, guys,” Courtney insisted, the spring in her step back. “How bad can it be? We’ll just check it out after school as normal kids –”

“And Chuck,” Beth chimed in with a smile. Courtney nodded.

“ – and Chuck, who can tell us if anything’s going on that’s weird, then we’ll come back tonight and check it out further. And, if Chuck says there’s nothing special about it at all, then we’ll never have to visit again.”

“is that a promise?” Rick asked. Courtney rolled her eyes.

“Sure, it is.”

“It’s like you don’t even want to be cultured,” mumbled Beth. The bell rang, and all four broke off into their homerooms to start the day.

“Remember!” Courtney called after them. “I’ll meet you there after school!”

“We’ll remember!” Yolanda called back, laughing.

“See ya, Court!”

Courtney smiled. It felt good to be back in action.

***

The newest members of the JSA were not on time that afternoon. Courtney had somehow managed to convince Pat that she was going to the museum for an after-school project that was absolutely not at all about checking out the Superhero exhibit or The Flash display. Still, if he knew her stepfather, he most likely would be waiting for her at the museum, or would show up at the best possible moment. She stood up as Yolanda and Rick rounded the corner, waving at her as they joined her outside the museum doors.

“Have either of you seen Beth?” she asked, frowning. Yolanda shook her head no, but Rick pointed down the street.

“Isn’t that her staring at that telephone box?”

Courtney turned to look. She waved Beth over from where she was staring intently at some weird box with POLICE written on the top, and Beth came jogging over.

“Guys,” she said, super excited, “You’ll never believe what I saw –”

“We should probably get in quick before the museum closes,” interjected Yolanda, who knew how long-winded Beth could be about normal things sometimes. Courtney nodded, already going to open the doors. The four stopped short in the entrance, staring up at the wide marble columns, the grandiose flooring and the wide double stair case leading up to the second floor. Exhibits stretched as far as the eye could see, ranging from Teddy Roosevelt and Ancient Egypt, to a giant woolly mammoth greeting them near the great wide doors.

“How can all of this fit in here?” Rick muttered.

“Chuck says the museum is technically a pocket dimension, so when we entered we didn’t actually go into the building,” Beth said, still gaping in wonder.

“A pocket dimension?” Yolanda frowned. “I thought that was just in sci-fi.”

“Apparently not,” Courtney murmured. She spotted the directory, and raced over to it, her friends following.

“Okay,” she said. “It looks like the exhibit for The Flash is on the second floor. What if – Beth, who are you staring at?”

“Sorry,” Beth said, grabbing Courtney’s arm and pointing. “But Chuck says that woman over there is an alien from the planet Krypton.”

“What?” Rick asked loudly. Courtney shushed Beth as the blonde-haired woman turned around at them, lowering her glasses slightly.

“Right now, she’s using her x-ray vision to see who we really are,” Beth said, excited. “Chuck says her name is Supergirl, but she goes by the alias of Kara Danvers, and –”

“And she’s headed right for us,” Yolanda hissed. All four tried to hide behind the directory box, but the woman made a beeline for them, a tight frown set on her face.

“Also she can hear anything from a super long distance away,” Beth said, but it was already too late. Kara approached them, glancing over her shoulder repeatedly.

“Who are you kids?” she hissed at them, corralling the four into the shadows. “And how does – she – know so much about me?”

“Hi, I’m Beth,” said Beth with a little wave. Courtney grabbed her hand.

“We’re the Justice Society of America,” Courtney explained. Rick and Yolanda shot her terrified glances.

“What?” Courtney asked. “If we already know her secret identity, why shouldn’t she know ours?”

“Because we’re in public, at a museum,” Yolanda hissed back. Kara rubbed at her eyes, already tired.

“Ooookay, kids,” she said. “I think we should take this discussion to the food court, because – “

Kara froze.

“Where did your friend with the super-glasses go?”

Courtney had already broken away from the group. “Beth!”

“Sorry,” Rick said, trying to sound world-weary. “This happens a lot!”

“I’m up here!” Beth said, waving to them from the top of the stairs. “And you have got to see this –”

“Kara?” Alex’s voice crackled over her comms as Kara raced after this new group of apparently superhero kids with a grimace. “Kara, what’s happening?”

“I’ll explain later,” Kara hissed. “I might’ve run into another team of superheroes. And they’re _teenagers_.”

***

Courtney raced up the stairs two at a time, following Beth as fast as she could. She stopped in the entrance of the Superhero exhibit, finding Beth standing there as still as a post. She cautiously walked up to her friend, glancing up at The Flash exhibit.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, finally getting a good look at her friend. Her eyes were shining, like she was crying. “Beth, what is it?”

“It’s him,” Beth said shakily, pointing at the statue in front of them. “Chuck says... that’s a real person.”

Courtney did a double take as the rest of the group filtered in from outside, Kara behind them all like she was herding ducks. Beth turned to look at everyone, blinking hard.

“That’s not a statue.”

“Well, what is it?” Rick asked, walking around the glass case in a wide circle.

“Chuck says that’s the real Flash, whoever he is,” Beth said. Rick waved Yolanda over, who crossed her arms.

“How can that be a real person?” she asked. “Sure, it’s kinda creepy but...”

“His eyes follow you, no matter where you go,” Rick said. Courtney huffed in exasperation.

“So Chuck knows that’s the Flash, but he doesn’t know who the Flash is?”

“Chuck scanned his vitals, and that’s a living, human being,” Beth said. “I don’t know what else to tell you guys!”

“But if that’s a real superhero on display,” Rick paused. They all looked up at the Flash’s face, terror dawning on them all.

“Then what’s this museum going to do about us?”

“Ooookay,” Kara said from behind them all. The four teens whipped around to face her. Kara sighed, taking off her glasses to really look them all in the eyes.

“We really need to talk.”

***

“And then my brother Mike ran him over with my step-dad’s truck, and that was the end of the Injustice Society of American as we knew it,” Courtney finished, finally taking a loud slurp from her milkshake. All four teenagers sat in a booth in the museum food court, plates of fries, burgers and everything else piled high in front of them. Yolanda picked at her lettuce, stealing glances at Beth, who was using Chuck to look around the entire food court for signs of suspicious activity. Rick polished off his burger, starting in on the fries. Kara Danvers sat on the opposite side, staring at Courtney in disbelief. Even Alex was silent over comms. She leaned forward, lacing her hands together.

“And – you did all of this in what, your sophomore year of high school?” she asked. All four kids nodded.

“But enough about us,” Courtney said, her eyes shining. “What about you? You’re from a different planet?”

“Keep your voice down, but yes,” Kara said. “And a whole different Earth, as it turns out.”

“And that’s your friend in the exhibit up there,” Yolanda said. Kara nodded.

“His name is Barry, and he was kidnapped by the Curator who runs this entire operation,” she said. Courtney sat up a little straighter. Finally, a new mission!

“Kidnapped?” she said, her eyes widening. “Why?”

Kara rubbed at her face tiredly. “We... don’t know. But we have a plan in place to try and rescue him tonight –”

“Well, whatever it is, we could help,” Courtney said, looking around at her friends for confirmation. They all nodded.

“As much as I appreciate that from you kids, I’m going to say no,” Kara said, forming her mouth into a hard line. “I’m sorry, but – even I don’t know what we’re dealing with here. And if this Curator overpowered Barry and his superspeed, then he could be even more dangerous than we thought.”

“But if this guy’s as dangerous as you say, you’ll need all the backup you can get,” Yolanda added. “And we’ve faced supervillains before –”

“Supervillains who have hurt people in town,” added Rick. “Even killed our friends.”

“I know,” Kara sighed. “And I’m sorry, but – “

“Look, Miss Danvers,” Courtney interrupted. “I know we may look like just kids to you. But we’ve faced real threats, like Yolanda and Rick said. We have powers too, powers this Curator might not expect –”

“No,” Kara shook her head. “I knew there was a reason The Museum came here to your town, and I think the reason is you kids. I’m sorry, but I can’t let any of you help out tonight, especially if...”

“We end up like your friend,” Beth said quietly. Kara nodded, reaching over to take Beth’s hand.

“I know it’s scary. Seriously, I would’ve wanted to do the same thing as all of you when I was your age – help in whatever way possible. But trust me here – me and my friends are already on the case, and we can handle it. Hopefully, by tomorrow morning, you can all wave us off once we leave for our Earth – Barry included.”

“But –” Courtney tried to say. Kara held up her hands.

“No buts! Please, Courtney. I don’t want you – any of you – to end up trapped.”

Courtney paused, glancing around at her friends. She sighed, but nodded.

“We hear you.”

“Wait, what?” Rick hissed. “Court –”

“I think Courtney and Kara are right,” Yolanda said. “The last thing Blue Valley needs is for its JSA to be destroyed all over again.”

“Thank you,” Kara sat back, utterly relieved. “Really, kids, thanks. And I promise we’ll talk again as soon as all of this over. You can ask all the questions about superhero business as you want.”

“Thanks, Miss Danvers,” Courtney said with a nod, already getting up to leave. “We appreciate that so much. See you – tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Kara agreed. She watched the kids go, interrupted by Alex over comms.

“Kara? What did you find out?”

“That we might have more than we bargained for tonight,” she said slowly.

***

Courtney led Beth, Yolanda and Rick through the doors and out into the sunlight of Blue Valley once again.

“You’re not seriously thinking of not doing anything?” Rick insisted.

“Yeah, we can’t just let the Flash and Supergirl do this by themselves!” Beth said. “Who knows what this Curator guy could do to them –”

“Courtney?” asked Yolanda cautiously. “You do have a plan, right?”

Courtney rounded on them all.

“Of course I have a plan! There’s no way we’re staying out of this. Kara doesn’t know what we’ve faced – what all of us have really faced before. We can help her out, and we’re going to prove it to her and her team.”

“How?” Rick asked.

“Meet back at the Museum tonight, after they close,” Courtney said, her eyes bright with determination. “Around the back, in the bushes, wherever – just stay out of sight. Keep in touch over comms, and stick together once we’re all inside. Then we can figure out what this Curator really wants from the Flash and Blue Valley. Got it?”

“That’s not much of a plan,” Beth pointed out. Courtney rolled her eyes.

“We can figure out the logistics tonight, okay? And besides – Supergirl and her friends don’t know the type of evil that exists in Blue Valley. We do. I have a feeling they’re going to need all the help they can get.”

***


	12. Night at the Museum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When all the superheroes converge on a desperate mission to rescue Barry, they get a glimpse of the Curator's master plan, and discover it is even more sinister than they ever could have imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more light torture, sorry barry!

“Hello? Anybody home?”

The Doctor rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet on the museum floor, taking a look around at all the empty exhibits. It was nearly midnight now, the perfect time to drop in on the Curator for a nice, easy little chat. Nothing too serious, after all. Just hostage negotiations. Nope, nothing too serious at all.

“Ah, Doctor!” Called the Curator from the top steps. The Doctor glanced up, finding him in the dark. Everything looked different at night here, didn’t it? With all the exhibits gone, this museum seemed as pleasant as a tomb.

Yikes. Not a cheery thought, Doctor.

“Figured you and I could have a little chat,” the Doctor said, putting her hands in her pockets. “Alien being to alien being. You know.”

“I’m afraid I’m not too fond of midnight chats,” said the Curator, turning to leave. “I have my pets to check in on, now if you’ll excuse me —“

“But it’s me!” Called the Doctor, spreading her arms wide. “We go way back, you and I. Don’t we?”

Personally, the Doctor didn’t have a clue who this Curator was.

“Of course,” he said, pausing on the stairs. “Well then — why don’t you come up to my office? We can talk over a mug of hot tea.”

“Thanks,” the Doctor flashed a blinding grin his way, following him up the stairs. She glanced down just in time to see a blonde-haired woman slip into the shadows, accompanied by a stretched-out hand, a white-haired woman with icy blue eyes, and a young man with long black hair holding a metal satellite. The Doctor nodded, watching them go. Everyone was in position. It was time to act.

“Doctor?” The Curator called. She tore her gaze away, glancing up. “Is there something the matter?”

“Oh! No, not at all. Just admiring this fine establishment of yours here.”

The Doctor followed the Curator without another glance back.

***

“This way!” hissed Kara, leading Ralph, Cisco and Killer Frost down the shrouded stairs into the basement of the museum. The silence almost felt suffocating, heavy in the air around them. Without the general chatter and hum of the daytime crowd, the museum felt vacant, lonely, deserted. Kara threw a hand out to protect the team as they stopped at a corner, peering around the edge.

“What is it?” Cisco asked in a whisper.

“I can look,” offered Ralph, already stretching his neck around to see. Kara stopped him in his tracks, pushing his neck back. She shot a look at all of them, already appalled.

“We can’t just go running in there!”

“And why not?” asked Frost. “You and Barry do it all the time.”

“Because Barry isn’t the only one the Curator’s got here,” Kara said. She slunk around the corner, finally gesturing for the group to follow her.

“And be quiet,” she insisted. “No matter what you see.”

“No matter what you – OH MY GOD,” Ralph yelped as he caught up to Kara, coming face to face with a giant Woolly Mammoth.

“At least we know we’re in the right place,” Cisco laughed nervously. “There’d be no other place that has giant Woolly Mammoths, right?”

“Not like this one,” murmured Kara. “Stay here. I’m going to find Barry.”

She rose up off the ground, already flying over the rest of the cages to get a bird’s eye view. Frost gently reached for the woolly mammoth, tutting softly as it pulled away from her.

“Hey, it’s okay,” she said, her voice soft. “We’re not here to hurt you. We just want to find our friend.”

“Woolly Mammoths can’t talk, right?” Ralph asked, incredibly uncertain. “Like, he can’t tell us where Barry is?”

“Of course – Ralph!” Cisco shook his head in exasperation. “Of course woolly mammoths can’t talk, this isn’t Sesame Street!”

Ralph shrugged. “We’re in a museum that literally has living, breathing exhibits, what did you expect me to think?”

Cisco turned as something flew out of the corner of his vision, followed by frantic footsteps and a small clang. He set the Barry-o-tron down on the ground, cautiously stepping forward.

“I don’t think we’re alone,” he said quietly. Ralph huffed.

“Of course we’re not alone,” he hissed. “There’s a giant woolly mammoth right in front of us!”

“You boys stay here,” Frost commanded, already pushing past Cisco and raiding her icy hands. “I’ll go deal with it –”

“Uh uh uh, no,” Cisco said. “We are all coming with you. I am not staying alone in the dark with who knows what else could be here –”

“Cisco,” sighed Frost. “It’s just a woolly mammoth. A sad woolly mammoth.”

The three froze as footsteps echoed in the shadows, very clearly running across into the myriad of other cages.

“Come on, I think he’s this way –”

“Don’t let them see you –”

“They’re after Barry,” breathed Ralph. Ignoring Frost’s and Cisco’s protests, he launched himself over the other prisons, taking the longest strides he could to catch up with the targets.

“Hey! Hey – whoever you are, stop!”

“So much for a stealth mission,” Frost said, rolling her eyes. She and Cisco raced after Ralph and whoever else was there, finally skidding to a stop outside one of the newer looking cells. Four masked and caped figures stood huddled in front of it in defensive positions, each one glaring up at Ralph, Frost and Cisco.

“Stay away from us,” the taller one in the green cape and hour-glass strung around his neck warned. The blonde, curly-haired girl raised her hand, and a large, gleaming golden staff came out of nowhere and whooshed right to her outstretched grip.

“We’re here to rescue The Flash,” she said. “Don’t try stopping us.”

“What?” Cisco laughed nervously. “We’re here to rescue The Flash.”

“Who are you kids?” asked Ralph, putting his hands on his hips.

“We’re not kids,” said the girl dressed all in black and wearing a cowl with cat ears. “Who are you?”

“Why don’t you answer us first?” Frost asked, lifting her icy palms in a warning.

“Hey, they’re just kids!” Ralph stepped in front of her.

“Once again, not kids!” insisted the curly blonde-haired girl.

“What is going on here?!” Kara said suddenly, alighting in between the two teams. She held out her arms to stop them from going at her, swiveling from each one to get a better look at what was going on.

“Who are you – wait. Courtney?”

Courtney gave a sheepish little wave. “Hi, Miss Danvers.”

“Uh, that is Supergirl,” interrupted Cisco. “How do you know each other?!”

“We ran into each other earlier today,” Kara said quickly. “They’re Blue Valley’s superheroes. And I thought I told you to stay out of things!”

“Blue Valley’s superheroes?” asked Frost. “But they’re just kids!”

“We’re really not!” cried Yolanda. “We can help you out.”

“Yeah,” Beth said from behind Rick, who moved to let her through to the front. “We already found him.”

“What?” Kara frowned. Beth, Rick, Yolanda and Courtney all moved aside, revealing the contents of the cell they were standing in front of. Inside was a curled up, sleeping shape with dark brown hair and a plaid flannel. Cisco fell to the ground in front of the bars, grabbing the Barry-o-tron. He rapped on the bars, waking the form inside.

“Barry!” he whispered. “Hey – Barry!”

Barry jerked back, getting to his feet like a startled deer. His eyes were large and afraid and haunted – until he got a good look at who was there.

“Cisco?” he asked, uncertain, tearing his gaze away from his friend and looking at everyone else. “Kara?”

“Hey, Barry,” Kara smiled, stepping up to the bars. She gestured everyone away, wrapping her hands around them. “We figured out your message.”

“Personally, I thought you could’ve given us more of a warning,” said Ralph, but Frost hushed him.

“What Ralph means is, we’re just glad you’re okay,” she smiled warmly.

“You – you guys can’t be here,” Barry said, raising a shaking hand. “You – you guys –”

“It’s going to be alright, Mr. Allen,” Courtney stepped up. Barry flinched back. Courtney raised her hand and her staff, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. “We’re here to rescue you – all of us are.”

“Watch out,” Kara said. Courtney stepped back again, and gritting her teeth, Kara pulled apart the metal bars, making a whole wide enough for a person to step through. She stepped back, admiring her handiwork.

“I could’ve done that too,” muttered Rick. Ralph glanced at him.

“Come on, buddy,” Cisco said when Barry didn’t step through. “I promise, it’s safe. I even made this little guy to restore your speed!” he added, holding up the Barry-O-Tron.

“It dissolves any drugs or particles that have entered your bloodstream in the last week –”

“I can’t leave,” Barry said, remaining where he was. “He’s going to kill all of you – he’s going to tell the world who the Flash is –”

“With all due respect, pal, we’re not dead yet,” Ralph said. “So you should probably come help us stay that way – you know, alive?”

“We can deal with all that other stuff once we get you out of here,” Cisco said. Tentatively, Barry took a step forward, hovering just on the entrance of his cell.

“That’s it,” Kara said, trying to at least sound encouraging for her friend’s sake, and not insanely worried, like how she was really feeling. “We got you.”

Barry finally crossed the threshold, leaning into Kara as he grabbed her arm to steady himself. She smiled up at him, still trying to convey that she was supportive, and not extremely fearful.

“Alright,” Cisco muttered, crouching down beside the Barry-O-Tron. “Just touch this right here – you’re gonna feel a little jolt, nothing serious – _I hope_ \--“

“Cisco,” Frost warned. Cisco waved her concerns away.

“And then your speed will be right back, brand new. Okay?”

“Okay,” said Barry, gingerly touching the antenna of the metal machine.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” called a voice from behind all of them. Everyone turned to look, readying their weapons and fists. A lone man stood in the center of the hallway, a breathing apparatus attached to his face, along with glowing eyes that you would’ve sworn looked red before.

“Cyborg Wells?” asked Cisco in disbelief.

“Surprise, surprise,” Cyborg Wells called back.

“He’s been trapped here since the multiverse collapsed,” mumbled Barry. “Pocket dimension –”

“Would stop him from being absorbed by all the other Wells into Nash, right,” muttered Cisco. He raised his voice again.

“Hey, Harry! Mind helping us out a bit here? Think you can stall the guards a bit while we get Barry outta here?”

Cyborg Wells raised his gun, his eyes now glowing a bright, cold blue. Several red-robed figures surrounded him, a sharp pinging resounding through the air.

“No,” Wells said, and fired. Several things happened at once:

Iris yelled over comms to get out of there; the museum’s alarm system had been turned on again –

Kara grabbed Barry and flew up into the air as fast as she could, but not before seeing the Barry-O-Tron explode into pieces –

Ralph stretched in front of Courtney and her friends, trying to protect them, but Courtney pushed him into the advancing guards, who all crashed to the ground –

And Beth read more and more from Chuck on her glasses, absorbing all this new information, and finally screamed –

“STOP!”

Miraculously, everyone did. Beth pushed her way to the middle of the hallway. Courtney ran up and grabbed her arm.

“Beth, what are you doing –”

“Listen,” Beth hissed. The sharp pinging rose over the silence, though there was something different about it this time –

An animal bayed and trumpeted from the far side of the room. Ralph blanched.

“The woolly mammoth,” he said, stricken with terror.

“Someone’s opening all the doors to the cages,” Beth said, grim. “We need to get out of here, now.”

“Well that certainly would’ve helped just a few minutes ago,” Cisco muttered. He stood up, dropping the now-smoking and destroyed Barry-O-Tron, turning to Killer Frost.

“Think you can freeze the guards?”

Frost grimaced, but already raised her hands to prepare to make a blast forward.

“I can definitely try –”

“Don’t!” Alex’s fearful voice broke over comms. “Kara – Cisco – _everybody_ – J’onn and Yaz and I found something.”

“It’s the children, Graham, Ryan,” said Yaz. “The ones who made the distress signal. It’s them.”

“Children?” Ralph echoed. “What children --?”

“There must be hundreds of them,” murmured J’onn, his voice so low it crackled over comms. “What else is this Curator stealing from the world?”

“Guys!” The Doctor’s voice hissed into everyone’s ears. “Guys, you need to get –”

“Well done, Team Flash!” shouted the Curator. His applause echoed across the basement, a silence descending on all except for him. He walked out from the midst of the guards as Cyborg Wells raised his gun, shooting a beam of light at Kara. She flew to the side, trying to protect Barry as much as she could.

“Well done, all of you,” the Curator continued. With a flick of his wrist, the red-robed guards flooded forward, grabbing the young JSA members, Ralph and Frost. “I’m afraid you’ve given me exactly what I need.”

“No!” yelled Barry. “Kara, please – we can’t let him have them –”

“I’m working on it, Bar,” Kara said testily, readying her heat vision. But Barry clutched her arm, looking into her eyes and imploring her.

“You have to put me down,” he begged. “It’s me the Curator wants, really, not them –”

“Barry, I don’t care what your heroism is telling you to do right now, I’m not letting you go again!” Kara asserted. “You’re hurt, and you don’t have your speed, who knows when you’ll recover –”

“I know,” Barry said. “Believe me, I know. But you would do the exact same for your friends – any of us would. Listen – I’m _this_ close to figuring out what he’s planning, what he’s going to do – if you let me stay I can –”

“I’m not going to let you stay when it might cost you your life!” Kara’s eyes flashed in pain. “What will Iris say when we come back empty-handed?”

“She’ll understand –”

“She will not, and you know that for a fact!”

“Kara, the Curator is harvesting my energy, and the energy of everyone else here,” Barry said slowly. “That’s why I’m so weak, I’ve been – drained of my speedforce, and pretty soon he’s going to drain me of my life, too. He’ll put me on display forever once I’m gone, and he’ll do the same to Ralph, and Frost and those kids down there if we don’t stop him together.”

“So what,” Kara asked, her eyes sparking again. “The solution is to just leave you here alone?”

“It’s the only way,” Barry argued. “I can try to come up with some kind of cure, something to stop him, right under the Curator’s nose. I can try and – try and talk to him, Kara. Please.”

Kara didn’t answer. A sigh floated over on comms.

“As much as I hate to admit it, having someone on the inside might be our best bet, Kara,” J’onn’s voice sputtered over the comms. “You need to let him go.”

Kara looked Barry dead in the eyes.

“You have a week, Barry. If you haven’t gotten in touch with us by Sunday, I’m – we are all coming for you. You hear?”

Barry nodded. Kara raised her eyes to the ceiling, muttering a quick prayer to Rau. Then she flew back to the ground, reluctantly letting go of her closest superfriend. Barry walked over to the Curator, his hands raised slightly.

“You don’t have to hurt them,” he said slowly. “Just – take me back, and let them go.”

“What are you doing?!” the Doctor suddenly whispered over comms. “This is the wrong kind of hostage negotiations we wanted –”

“Please,” added Barry for emphasis. The Curator raised an eyebrow, taking in Kara’s defensive stance and Cisco’s terrified expression. Cisco lurched forward by a sudden instinct, confused.

“Barry, what?”

“It’s alright, Cisco,” Barry said, turning to look his friend in the face. Cisco only stared back in terror: terror at how his friend’s eyes were ringed with dark circles, at how his shirt looked bloody on his left side, and how he wasn’t standing up straight. How could he have missed all that?

“You’re not,” Cisco whispered, reaching forward. Barry moved out of his way, his face drawn and disturbed. The Curator snapped his fingers and the guards released the JSA, Ralph and Frost. Ralph took an uncertain step forward.

“Barry, you can’t do this again –”

“Yeah, sacrificing yourself for us is getting real old,” Frost added.

“Flash,” Courtney interrupted. “Flash, you can’t do this –”

“My guards will escort you out, Stargirl,” the Curator said, glee turning his face into a twisted mask again. He clapped his hands together. “Along with all the rest. Oh and – be sure to say hello to the Doctor on your way out. Once again, I appreciate the effort to distract me, but you should know by now that I know too much to ever be distracted.”

Kara whirled around to face him.

“You don’t know who I am,” she said, allowing a little bit of triumph to color her voice. “Or Stargirl, or any of us supers, do you?”

“Yeah, and that’s how we’ll stop you!” Ralph chimed in. “You won’t be able to see us coming.”

“Oh, I will in good time,” the Curator sneered. “I believe I’ll be able to find out very quickly, in fact.”

He snapped his fingers again, and Barry screamed, putting his hands to his ears. He sank to the ground, while his friends and the JSA looked on with horror in his eyes. Cisco started forward again.

“We are not leaving him here –”

“Cisco, don’t,” Kara pressed a hand to his chest, holding him back. Her voice broke, shattering like glass. “We have to go.”

Cisco took one last look at Barry, then turned tail and ran out, his footsteps receding down the long, dark hallway. The JSA did the same, ushered out by Ralph and Frost, who Kara swore had tears in her eyes as her white hair slowly turned back to Caitlin Snow’s brown. Kara lingered for a moment, fighting the ever-pressing urge to incinerate everyone, no matter the cost.

“Remember, Barry,” she whispered. “One week.”

Barry opened his eyes, his face flush from the pain. He looked up, looking into Kara’s eyes.

“Tell Iris I –”

Barry collapsed to the ground, motionless. Kara sucked in a breath, breaking her promise and rushing to press the Curator against the wall.

“If you’ve –”

“Relax,” the Curator laughed hollowly. “Supergirl, Mr. Allen is not dead yet. He still has to serve a purpose. My purpose.”

“Yeah, well, my purpose should be to crush you for what you’ve done to my friend –”

“And what would happen to dear Mr. Allen if you did that?” The Curator’s sneer turned dark. He held up a gleaming remote control, thumb hovering over a stark red button. “Did you know, Supergirl, that I am literally holding his life in my hands? That everything I own in this museum can be controlled with the click of a button on this remote?”

“You are sick,” Kara spat in his face. “Sick for thinking you could ever run a museum this way, and sick for thinking we won’t be back for you –”

“Yes, but the people do love me,” the Curator said, keeping his voice light. “Once I have finished with Mr. Allen, I will find you and all the other superheroes like you, and put you on display like you belong. The remnants of another past, another lifetime, even – so that people can see what it was like before they helped themselves to better the world.”

“I should kill you right now,” Kara hissed. The Curator pressed down on the red button ever so lightly.

“Supergirl!”

Kara turned, her eyes red with heat vision even as she saw Alex and J’onn standing there. Alex, with fear in her eyes. Alex, begging her to get out of there.

“We’ve done everything we can for now,” J’onn said. His jaw tightened as he spotted Barry lying on the ground.

“Supergirl, please,” Alex’s voice constricted, and she slowly put away her gun. “It’s time to go.”

Kara let her heat vision fade. She pushed the Curator away, sending him sprawling to the cold, hard ground.

“I’ll be back for you,” she said, standing over him. “And there won’t be anything you can do to any of us that won’t make me punish you for what you’ve done.”

Kara rose up off the floor, flying out of the museum as J’onn and Alex raced after her. The doors clanged shut far above the basement, and the Curator allowed himself a short, victorious laugh as he climbed to his feet. His eyes gleamed in the darkness as he stretched his hands out in front of him. Slowly, he turned to Barry, who still lay prone on the floor. He crouched down to his level, poking him with one wrinkled hand.

“Guards,” the Curator commanded. “Bring Mr. Allen down to Level 7. It is time he knew why I really brought him here.”

***


	13. Prototypes

“What is this place?”

Barry leaned against the railing of the catwalk, peering down into the darkness and fog below. The pounding, the incessant drums in his head had returned, and he felt like if he didn’t have this railing to lean up against, then he would most likely collapse to the ground. Not even the food and water the guards had given him when he’d woken up had helped. He tried telling himself that this was for the better – that this was his choice, to stay behind and source information for his friends. To sacrifice himself for all of them, even Iris.

But in reality, he felt like a crushing weight was pinning him to the ground, pinning him so he couldn’t move. He felt frozen with fear, with terror, each rattling breath escaping his lungs pure trepidation and worry. He could only hope that he had made the right choice, that somewhere at the end of this tunnel was the light and he would somehow see Iris again after all of this –

“This, Mr. Allen, is my crowning achievement,” the Curator proclaimed, joining Barry at the railing.

“West-Allen,” Barry murmured. The Curator pretended not to hear him, instead gesturing to a guard to flip the switch. Barry blinked as light flooded the space below, chasing the darkness away with a succession of quick booms. His grip on the railing tightened as he stared down, down, down, at all the bodies encased in blue light: all still, all motionless, all...

“Children?” Barry whispered, turning to the Curator. “Why do you have all these children?”

“I have saved them, Mr. Allen,” the Curator said. “Saved them all from tragedy, from the horrors of war, from their fates themselves. All taken from all across time.”

“But people must know,” Barry muttered. “People must have known that their – their children are down there, stolen away by – by –”

“By me?” The Curator shook his head. “No, of course not. I rescued each and every poor child just before they died – from tragedies all across history.”

“The Legends,” Barry insisted, his voice growing in strength. “The Legends will know that you just took all these children out of time, that you created time –”

“Aberrations?” The Curator allowed himself a short and easy laugh. “No, dear boy. They are hardly aberrations if everyone believes they have perished already. And now, just for me, and the population of the world, they will live on forever. They will speak truth to the past, to tell everyone what they have suffered and warn others of what occurred long ago.”

The Curator turned his dark eyes onto Barry, lifting up the blue sparkling lightning rod once more. Barry thought he could feel the lightning call out to him, some echo of the speedforce in his blood asserting itself once more.

“Fascinating,” the Curator said, searching Barry’s eyes. “It really is as if you are hearing this for the first time.”

Barry did a double take, suddenly feeling as if the ground had given way and he was falling, spinning through the air without the means to stop.

“What?”

“These children are merely the beginning of a much larger project,” the Curator said without an explanation. “One that will reach every corner of the globe. Wouldn’t you wish, Mr. Allen, to tell the stories of the past if it meant the human race could never repeat them again?”

“Not when it’s children,” argued Barry, sadness washing over him like a wave as he stared down below. “Not if you’re forcing them to relive the moments of their deaths.”

The Curator smiled.

“Oh, but when the children tell humanity what they have suffered, people are bound to listen. Just as they are bound to listen to you.”

“To me?” Barry echoed.

“These children are part of a new exhibit in my museum. Nay, a new technology, that will allow them to relive and retell the great moments of history they found themselves destroyed by. But you, Mr. Allen,” the Curator grinned, “will be my very first prototype.”

Barry stared, his eyes drawn to the lightning rod. The light was almost hypnotizing, almost trance-like. Distantly, he realized the drums in his head had withdrawn, nearly gone from his ears. He wanted to grab onto the rod and never let it go, he felt himself moving forward, about to touch it and be filled with lightning forever –

“BARRY.”

Barry swayed on his feet, wrenching his gaze up to look at the ceiling, at all around him. Vaguely, he heard the Curator say his name, ask what was going on.

“BARRY, DO NOT TOUCH THE LIGHTNING. PLEASE.”

“Iris?” Barry slurred, the world beginning to tilt and shift around him. “Iris –”

The world fell silent again, solidifying into darkness. The Curator appeared in his line of sight, peering at him as he blinked his eyes open.

“We must proceed as soon as possible. It appears Mr. Allen may have been drained far too fast. There can be no more delays.”

Barry sank into unconsciousness, Iris’ voice echoing in his ears.

***

STAR LABS

“Iris? What did you see?”

Iris sat up from the table, letting go of Cecile’s hand as she sat up alongside her. Iris swallowed, putting a hand to her head. Cisco’s face swam in and out of her field of vision, finally becoming solid. She reached out a hand, grabbing his shoulder to steady herself.

“We saw Barry,” Cecile said, speaking first. “Him and the Curator. There were –”

“Thousands of children,” Iris said, leaning forward. Cisco caught her gently. “Thousands upon thousands, all – all – I’m not even sure.”

“The Curator said something about Barry being the first prototype,” Cecille said, meeting Joe’s eyes across the room. “The first prototype of some new technology.”

“Did he say what this new technology was?” Joe asked, a deep frown set on his face. “Did he give any clue, any idea of what he needs Barry to do?”

“He said something about the children reliving and retelling the greatest moments of history,” Iris said, lifting her eyes to look at the assembled team. “What if he’s going to make Barry talk about being The Flash?”

“I mean, would that be so bad?” Ralph asked hesitantly. “Telling the world how we save Central City and all?”

“Something tells me the Curator won’t make it sound so nice,” Caitlin said, holding up the tablet. “Look. I was able to get Barry’s readings when you connected with his mind. He’s dying. “ She said it quickly, like she didn’t want to say it at all. Because of course she didn’t. Caitlin took a deep breath, rallying herself as she met Iris’ eyes. “Who knows how much more he can take before he’s gone?”

“We can’t think like that,” Cisco insisted, carefully letting Iris off the table and onto her feet. “There has to be something we can do, some way to help from here –”

“There was something else,” Iris interrupted. “I – I think he heard me. When he was going to touch this, um, this lightning rod, I felt this jolt of indescribable fear. I knew something – terrible – would happen to him if he touched it. So I... I told him not to. And he didn’t.”

“Well –” Cisco said after a moment of silence. “Well, this is great! If Barry can hear us, we can send him messages, tell him what to do to escape –”

“Yeah, but he passed out right after,” Cecille pointed out. “We can’t tell him anything if he’s just going to go right to sleep.”

The Doctor and Yaz rounded the corner, entering STAR Labs with Courtney and Beth in tow.

“We found something,” Yaz stated, ushering Beth forward. She smiled uncertainly, her smile dying as Cisco, Caitlin, Cecille, Ralph, Joe and Iris all looked at her. Beth gave a frantic look to Courtney, who nodded encouragingly.

“You can do it,” cheered the Doctor quietly. “Tell them what you found out, Beth.”

“So it turns out Chuck went through all your files from your lab, and he thinks we’ve been looking in the wrong place for finding out who the Curator is,” Beth said in one giant breath. She walked up to the computers, sliding into a chair as her fingers swept over the keyboard, bringing up as much data and folders as possible.

“Hey, wait a second,” Cisco said, watching Beth’s hands fly over the keyboard. “How are you doing that?”

“Beth has a super-computer in her glasses,” Courtney whispered.

“Chuck says the Curator isn’t an enemy from Barry’s past or future at all,” Beth said, hitting one final key to bring up the Curator’s updated file. The letters forming THE CURATOR flashed and began switching themselves on the screen, scrolling through endless combinations before finally settling on the right one. Iris took a step forward, her hand flying to her throat.

“Oh, my god,” she whispered.

“The Curator is from Iris’ past,” Beth said heavily. “Her and Barry’s.”

“But mostly mine,” Iris murmured. “We knew the Curator in grade school. One day, he was just gone. The teachers told us he suffered some sort of accident –”

“And you never heard from him again,” said Joe, walking up to join his daughter at the console. “I remember.”

“Elliott Pax,” Iris breathed, staring at the image of the little red-headed, bow-tie wearing boy on the screen. “I never thought I’d see him again. He always had the weirdest ideas...”

“Iris,” Cecille spoke up. “We need to get inside your memories. We need to see what you remember about him, anything at all that could help us figure out how to stop him.”

“Hold up,” Ralph threw up his hands. “I know I always get some warning about time travel every year from you guys. But what if we –”

“No, Ralph,” yelled everyone in the room. Some enjoyed it more than others. Ralph shrugged, bowing out for the time being.

“After me, we need to get inside the Curator’s mind,” Iris resolved, tightening her hands on the back of the chair she was holding onto. “We need to see what he’s been hiding from us.”

“Why don’t I get us a nice cuppa while we put our heads together and think, yeah?” the Doctor asked brightly, clapping her hands together. Her smile melted off her face as she thought for a moment.

“Wait. Did you say ‘ _thousands of children’_?”


	14. Memories

“And you’re sure this will work, Cisco?” Kara asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Cisco nodded, brandishing the tablet in his hands.

“All you have to do is establish a psychic link with Iris, and Cecille will help you enter her mind through a neural transmitter. Easy-peasy, we’ve done it dozens of times before –”

“Mainly only with supervillains,” Caitlin muttered. Kara shot her a panicked glance.

“Relax,” Cisco said. “Point is, we’ve tested it, it’s safe, even Barry’s done it a couple times – are you saying J’onn or somebody has never done this kinda thing with you?”

“Not like this exact thing,” Kara said, spreading her hands out in a shrug. Alex and J’onn chose that moment to enter.

“We think the museum’s on the move,” Alex said, hurrying over to the computers. “The tracker Kara fixed on Barry has started emitting these telepathic signals.”

“You think you can latch onto them?” Asked Cisco, hardly even mad that everyone else besides him was taking control of his computers. “And find out where the museum’s going next?”

“You won’t have far to look,” Courtney said, running into the lab and skidding on her sneakers. “Look at this. The Museum Of The Worlds to open in Central City next week.”

“No, we can’t wait that long,” Kara argued suddenly, her eyes bright. “I gave Barry till Sunday. That’s five days away.”

“Then we better hope this tracker can track him when the museum is still on the move,” J’onn said. “And that the Doctor can take us to him.”

“But first,” Iris interrupted. “We need to find out what the Curator wants. And if there’s a chance we can find that out through my memories, then we have to take it. Kara –”

“I know, I know, I want Barry back just as much as you do,” Kara said, finally sitting down beside Iris. She looked over at her, nodding.

“Let’s do this.”

“If it’s any consolation,” Cisco said, applying the wires to their foreheads. “It probably won’t hurt.”

“Probably?” Kara shot him a look. “What do you mean, probably?”

“Every time we’ve done this with a supervillain, they’ve tried to boot us out of their heads through unnecessary force,” Iris said grimly. “But don’t worry – I won’t do that to you.”

“You better not,” Kara muttered, laying down beside Iris. They locked eyes.

“You ready?” Kara asked softly. Iris nodded, swallowing hard.

“Ready,” she resolved. They took hands and closed their eyes. Cisco hit the button from the computer, and both women slipped into unconsciousness.

***

“Kara? Kara, what do you see?”

Kara opened her eyes. She was standing in a field of grass and clovers, surrounded by serene sunlight and pastel clouds. The expanse was almost dizzying as she looked around, trying to find something to latch onto. She started walking forward, pushing past purple flowers and wild berry bushes.

“Iris?” Kara called out, taking another dizzying glance up into the clouds. “Iris, can you hear me?”

“Right here, Kara.”

Kara turned, just catching sight of a glimpse into one of Iris’ memories. Joe’s house slowly rose out of the fog and the flower field like a towering colossus. Kara took a deep breath, then started up the porch steps.

“Come back here, you little scamps!”

Kara shut the door behind her, stepping carefully across the threshold as she avoided blocks and dolls and other children’s toys strewn around the place. The shouts came from the other room, and she peered inside to see what was going on. A much younger Joe raced into the living room, running around one of the big chairs as he was chased by two small kids. Kara smiled at them when she realized who they were, and why exactly they were chasing Joe around: Iris and Barry, playing superheroes.

“We caught you, dad,” little Iris yelled gleefully, attaching herself to Joe’s leg like a leech. “We got you!”

“You can’t escape from us now!” added Barry. Kara couldn’t help but laugh.

“Alright, alright!” Joe laughed helplessly, reaching down to extract his daughter from his legs. “You got me, you got me. I surrender.”

He straightened up as a knock came from the door. Kara turned to watch as Joe opened it, freezing up as she realized who was there.

“Hi Mr. West,” Elliott Pax said. “I’m working on a school project with Iris. Can I come in?”

“Sure, uh, Elliott, right?” Joe asked, holding the door open. Barry shot up from behind the couch.

“We didn’t invite you,” he said, as sternly as a nine year old kid could command.

“It’s okay,” Iris said. “We can just make it outside. Come on, Elliott. You can come too, Barry.”

“Hey, play nice, okay?” Joe yelled after them as the three kids all went out through the back door. He shook his head, closing the door behind them. “Kids!”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Kara muttered, and for a moment she swore Joe looked up at her. Then the scene shifted to the West’s backyard, and suddenly she was standing on grass and sand, watching as Elliott took out all different cardboard materials from his backpack.

“This is what we’re using for the roof and the floor,” Elliott instructed, handing them over to Iris. “Don’t worry, I have lots of tape.”

“What are you making?” Barry asked, looking at how Elliott brought out more and more paints and boxes from his bag. “How does all of that fit in there?”

Elliot shrugged. “We’re making a museum for the science fair.”

“That’s not science,” Barry frowned. Elliot glared at him.

“Yes it is, it’s called zoology. You’re just being stupid.”

“Don’t be mean,” chided Iris. “Barry can’t know every single kind of science in the world.”

“Yes I can –"

“Hey,” Kara said, stepping in to join the three kids. She frowned when they didn’t react, momentarily forgetting she wasn’t really there with them. “Hey, why don’t we get back to building the museum, okay?”

“These are all the animals,” Elliott said, shaking out a bag of all different kinds of plastic animals. “We can set them up all around like we’re chasing them inside.”

“Why not just put them on display?” Iris suggested. “If it’s a museum and all.”

“Right,” Elliott nodded, starting to set up the animals. Meanwhile, Kara crouched down between young Barry and Iris, watching as Barry got increasingly agitated the more animals and different things Elliott glued to the cardboard box.

“You can’t have robots in museums,” he argued. “Or giant starfish –”

“We can have whatever we want,” Elliot said, shooting another glare his way. “It’s mine and Iris’, not yours.”

“Come on,” Kara muttered. “This little fight can’t be your evil origin story –”

The scene shifted. Kara looked up to the sky, and immediately regretted it as she was pelted with falling rain, rattling the forest and tree-tops all around her. She was in some sort of forest. Dimly, she swung around, trying to see through the dark and gloom.

There: a light, about fifty paces away. Kara walked closer to it, wrapping her hands around her for warmth and comfort.

“Hello?” she called, trying to peer in at what was making it. “Hello, who’s there?”

The light grew brighter and brighter, nearly overpowering everything else around her. Kara finally approached the last of it, a small wooden cabin rising up in front of her. Inside, the light pulsed and burned. The door creaked as she stepped inside.

“Hello?” she asked, any other question she was about to ask dying on her lips. Elliott kneeled in front of her, his hands wrapped around the glowing orb of light. He hugged it tight, and for a moment Kara saw a ghostly double of the kid appear right behind him.

“We can make your dreams a reality,” a whispering voice echoed from the walls. Kara froze, fear making her throat tight. “We can help you achieve all you want in life.”

Elliott placed both his hands on the glowing orb. “Make me a museum where nothing ever has to go away.”

Kara stumbled back as beams of light began to burst from the glowing ball, flooding the small shack with a rosy, warm glow. They shot through the windows, through the cracks, through the floorboards until Kara felt precariously on edge standing on her slim bit of wooden plank. She watched Elliot’s face light up, diffused with happiness until suddenly the light sputtered and died.

“What happened?” Elliot asked. Kara shivered in spite of herself. “Why didn’t it work?”

“Your request is impossible,” said the ball of light. “We cannot complete it for you.”

“Impossible?” Elliot asked, frighteningly soft. “It can’t be impossible! Nothing’s impossible!”

He screamed and threw the ball of light down on the ground, shattering it into a million tiny pieces. He screamed again, seemingly on the verge of having a tantrum. He looked right at Kara, and his face contorted into an angry scowl.

“You!” he shouted. Kara looked behind her, eyes going wide as she spotted Iris less than a few yards away. Iris blanched, and she held up her hands as Elliott ran towards her.

“You did this! You made them go away!”

“Elliott, I didn’t do anything!” she threw her hands up and screamed as Elliott pushed her back into the dirt. “That wasn’t me!”

“All I want is my parents back,” Elliott said, his voice cracking open with anguish. Kara shot Iris an alarmed look as Elliott sank to the ground, crying. “All I want is them back and with me forever –”

“Elliott,” Iris said, crouching down beside him. “We all want our parents back. I know it hurts –”

“You don’t understand!” Elliott screamed. “My museum is the only way I can see them again –”

“Elliott, that was just a school project –"

“I’ll make it real,” Elliott yelled. “I’ll make it real, and I’ll trap you, and your friend Barry, and everybody else who hates me inside of it! You’ll never be able to leave – ever!”

“Elliott!” Iris yelled into the darkness as the boy got up and ran off into the woods. “Elliott, come back!”

“Kara?”

Kara awoke with a start. She sat up, taking in a deep breath. Beside her, Iris did the same. They were still holding hands.

“He’s had this plan in mind since the beginning,” Iris said, her voice hollow. “He’s doing this because of me.”

***

“Because of you? Iris, that’s –”

“It’s true, Cisco! I told him it was just a school project, and he didn’t listen, and now –”

“Iris, it’s not your fault,” Kara tried to sound as soothing as possible. “Whatever Elliott did – that’s on him, not you. It was his choices, his actions that made him do this.”

“You know, I would accept that if Barry wasn’t in trouble,” Iris shook her head, burying it in her hands. “But he is, and I –”

“Might be reconsidering my offer of time travel right about now?” Ralph asked. Iris sighed.

“As much as I hate to admit it, yes.”

“Then what would you say?” Kara crossed her arms. “Would you tell Elliott that his museum is a good idea? That he should go ahead and open it right away?”

“No, I –”

“Iris, we can’t go back,” Kara said. “All of us. We can’t change the things that went down, or how, or why. But we can save Barry, and we can save everyone else trapped inside of that place.”

“His parents,” Iris whispered. “He’s looking for his parents, that’s why he’s making this museum full of people who can’t stop him. He’s going to find his parents, save them before their deaths, and live out his days knowing none of us can stop him. Because he also has the one thing we want.”

“I hate supervillains who just want a family but have horrible means of getting it!” yelled Cisco.

“Uh, guys? We might have a problem,” Courtney said as she flew into the lab on the cosmic staff, Beth running behind her.

“Rick and Yolanda are missing,” she said, urgency flooding her voice. “We searched everywhere –”

“Would they have gone to the Museum on their own?” Caitlin asked, alarmed.

“But how?” Cisco cried. “The Museum isn’t even in Central City yet –”

“Fam!” the Doctor raced into the computer lab, skidding to a stop. “Can I call you fam? Anyways – big problem. Like, massive, massive problem, actually, I –”

“What’s wrong?” Kara inquired, taking a step forward. The Doctor looked into her eyes.

“The Museum just docked in Central City. And I found this just outside.”

She opened her hands to reveal a small metal piece of technology. Iris rushed over, grabbing it from her hands.

“This is the tracker you gave Barry,” she murmured to Kara. They locked eyes. “I think we might have even more trouble than we thought.”

“We need to get to the Museum, right now,” said the Doctor, breathless. “We need everyone we can get in on this.”

“When you say, everyone,” Ralph cleared his throat. “Do you mean –”

The Doctor nodded. “Everyone, Ralph.”

“I’ll call the Legends,” Cisco said, already typing away at the computers. “Caitlin, can you find Snart and Ray, they can’t be on their honeymoon forever -- Kara, you get Superman on the line –”

“I’ll do you one better,” she said, immediately taking off into the hallways of STAR Labs and flying out to Metropolis.

“We might even need the villains in on this,” Caitlin said, almost regretful. “Frost and I will see if Amunet Black and Goldface are free.”

“What about the rest of the JSA?” Beth asked. “We can’t just leave them –”

“We won’t,” Iris assured her. “I promise, we’ll get them out of there, just the same as we will Barry. Just – trust us, alright? This isn’t our first rodeo.”

“Hey, wait a minute,” Ralph started. “Earlier you said not to involve any of the heroes in this, because they could be hurt, or worse. Because the Curator would make us the bad guys! What’s changed?”

“What’s changed, Ralph,” Nash walked in from the hallway, holding the reconstructed Barry-O-Tron. “Is that we have a man on the inside. I fixed your machine, Cisco, you can thank me later –”

“No I won’t!” Cisco yelled back.

“And how will that help us?” Ralph insisted, raising his eyebrows.

“Because none of you are going as your superhero selves,” Caitlin stepped up. “You’re going to enter as regular people. No masks, no capes, nothing. Just you and your superpowers.”

“All of us?” asked Ralph. Caitlin nodded, her face grim.

“As many as we can get.”


	15. Secrets and Files

When Barry woke up next, he was startled by the dim light. Mostly because the other times he’d woken up in complete darkness in his cell. Here, he couldn’t see the bars, but he could see the rest of the museum. Slowly, he got to his feet, listening as his footsteps echoed in the large silence. The museum hall was a totally different beast at night, like the Curator had said. But it was even more different when it was empty.

What had happened? If he thought hard enough, he thought he could remember blue lightning, Iris’ voice, and... rows and rows of children? Barry shook his head. The relentless thudding was still hovering at the back of his mind, an all-consuming beat that couldn’t be stopped or ignored. But he was glad it faded as he took a look around, slowly peeling away from the wall he’d slept on, and walking further into the wide open marble expanse.

Why had the Curator left him alone like this? Had he assumed he wouldn’t wake? Or maybe it was some remnant of the speedforce that had caused him to sleepwalk – _sleeprun_ , really – and phase out of his cell into the empty hall? Barry looked down at his hands, hoping for some sign that that was true, or even possible. But he felt nothing.

He glanced out a moment later, watching for guards or anyone else that could be around as he slowly approached the huge glass doors that led to the outside. He could only imagine hearing the noise and bustle of the city outside as he pressed his face to the glass, but only saw more and more darkness, stretching out like some sort of long, interminable void before him. For a second, he stared out, letting his eyes glaze over as he thought about what could be out there, waiting for him. If the Museum was really in some sort of pocket dimension, like Cyborg Wells had said, was there truly nothing? Or were they floating in the great wide outer space somewhere, drifting among the stars and planets and asteroids, as far away from Earth as they could be? Distantly he wondered if this was how Kara felt in her spaceship from what she’d told him, or the Doctor, or even Iris when she was trapped in the mirror world. Not able to see anything outside, even though inside was grand and posh and.... utterly devoid of life.

He could try smashing the door, he supposed. He could try and phase through, see if that would even work, but all that happened was him jabbing his fingers against the cool, smooth glass. Nothing more. And even if he were to get through the doors this time, what would Barry run out into? A void, the emptiness of space? He’d be dead in seconds. Not to mention the last time he’d run into National City. Whatever the Curator had done to take away his speed, he’d tied it to the museum’s very building. If the Curator was just going to drain him of his life in here, but he couldn’t survive outside the museum, then what was the point? Barry hit the glass door again, trying to be stubborn. He had to have hope. There was always a way: always. He just had to find it.

He was still who he always was, before the Flash: double major in physics and chemistry, a master’s in criminology. Even though the drugs the Curator had pumped him full of made him skittish, or more fearful than usual, he still had his mind. With or without his speed, or even the drums banging in his head, he could get to the bottom of this. Barry reluctantly left the doors, turning back around to face the empty museum. He inhaled deeply, preparing to start his own investigation. He’d looked around the main hall enough already, been into the Superhero exhibit too many times to count that he didn’t think the Curator would put anything there that was worth looking into. So he started up the stairs instead, past the Superhero Exhibit, past the Hall of the Americas, past the other empty pedestals and forlorn glass cages. He paused at the entrance to East Asia, spotting a large, sleeping form in the center. Barry walked closer inside, watching the rise and fall of the woolly mammoth’s great chest. It snorted in its sleep, and he almost smiled. Then his smile slipped away. What had the Curator done, by trapping the poor thing here, along with everyone else? Sure, saving it from extinction was a noble and worthy goal. But something about the whole situation rubbed Barry the wrong way. They were both trapped, stuck with no way out. They both deserved to run free, to be where they belonged. Not stuck in a pocket dimension like this, not forced to be on display during the day. Barry glanced over his shoulder, ducking inside the exhibit as three red-robed guards marched past. He looked over at the sleeping woolly mammoth, wondering briefly what he could do to help it. He didn’t want to escape from the museum alone if it meant everyone else was consigned to eternity inside for the rest of their days.

Barry peeked out into the hall. Leaving the woolly mammoth behind, he darted out and stuck to the shadows. He lost the guards and found them again periodically, always making sure to hide as they passed. Finally, he left the doors and archways to the museum exhibits behind, finding a cold, well-lit emergency staircase. He winced every time his footsteps clattered just too loud, or he thought he could hear a noise behind him, following him. Was his paranoia getting worse somehow?

Finally, he reached the top of the stairs. The door that greeted him was unlike any others he had passed before, all wooden and bronzed and almost Victorian-looking. A weird emergency exit, if he’d ever seen one. He turned the doorknob gently, freezing as it creaked open. The door swung open to reveal a cozy, homely office of warm, dark woods, plush Persian rugs and a roaring, inviting fireplace. Barry crept inside, slowly closing the door behind him. Armchairs were piled high with stacks and stacks of books, the cherry-wood desk in the center of the room probably had mountains of files and paperwork precariously perched on top. He made his way over, picking up the top sheet. His name and face reflected back at him in bold, black type, nothing out of the usual for a police record. Except this was no police office. The more he inspected, the more he realized he was in the Curator’s own private office. Filing cabinets of every size and shape lined the walls, nestled in between bookcases and artifacts and curios. Barry eased one drawer open slightly, taking a glance inside. The Curator must have made thousands and thousands of records to track all his prisoners over the decades, and the amount was starting to chill Barry to the bone. This was just another reason why he couldn’t have his friends rushing in here to rescue him. All this paperwork, all this methodical planning – it just served as evidence that the Curator knew all.

He stopped at one of the folders, his fingers grazing the attached name. Iris West. Barry frowned as he pulled it out, taking a glance to the door to check for movement. Nothing. He eased the file out of the drawer, flipping through the pages. There were pictures of Iris taken at all different times of her life; as a kid, teen, even as a reporter and in the police precinct with Eddie and Joe and him. Barry’s mouth went dry as he landed on a class photo from elementary school: Iris’ profile was circled in red, as was his. One other little kid drew his attention the most: a little boy with red hair and a bow tie. Barry tightened his grip on the file, almost crumpling it up in his hands. Wasn’t that... didn’t he look like...

Some movement made him look over his shoulder. He hurriedly put the file back in the drawer, easing it closed with the slightest creak. Barry crouched down behind the old desk as he waited for someone to enter the office, for anything to happen at all. His heart beat ten times fast as he waited, slowly fading as nothing emerged and nothing more made any kind of sound. He stood up as carefully as he could, finding no one else besides him. Good. He sat down at the desk chair, spinning as casually as possible when all he was really doing was worrying about Iris and who this Curator really was. Something began to itch at the back of his mind: something to do with that redheaded boy. Hadn’t they all played together, back when they were little? Then that kid had gone missing? Barry couldn’t remember. He put his elbows on the desk, placing his head in his hands. The drumming was back. He needed something else to do besides think, needed something to concentrate on other than fear. He uncovered his eyes, looking down to the computer in front of him. Sure, he was no genius hacker like Felicity or Cisco, but he could try. Right now, even guessing passwords seemed entertaining.

So fifty tries later, Barry was in the computer. He grabbed Iris’ file from the drawer again, settling down to do some research on who exactly this Curator was. Names began to grab his attention, as did facts and numbers and the truth of how he knew him and why. What the Curator was doing. What his real name was. His disappearance. His killed parents. The failed police investigation. All of it had taken place only months before the murder of Barry’s own mother. No wonder he hardly remembered who the Curator – who _Elliott Pax_ – really was. It was the same reason why he could hardly remember fourth grade. Barry sat forward, staring intently at the Google results in front of him: two unknown but vaguely familiar parents stared back at him, both with Elliott’s signature red hair. Hadn’t they been at one of Iris’ birthday parties once, at one of her soccer games? His childhood school memories were hazy at best.

Barry froze as something stirred behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, but there was just a bookcase. It was the same as all the other walls of the study. Could it have just been the dark? He was a scientist, he knew better than to believe in night terrors. Still, something had just... knocked. And the sound wasn’t coming from the door. Barry left the computer, swallowing hard as he approached the bookshelf. Someone as evil as the Curator – _Elliott_ , he reminded himself – had to have a secret bookcase door, didn’t he? There were just some things villains couldn’t give u. Barry ran his hands along all the books in front of him, even the sides of the bookcases to check. He stepped back, about to fold his arms and reconsider, when something clicked under his feet. The bookcase began to grind and move, disappearing into the floor. Barry stared back as a young-ish man, probably thirties with red hair and a bow-tie suit stared back at him. The man smiled disarmingly, even going so far as to wave.

“Hello,” the man said. “I’m wondering where my son is – Elliott? Have you seen him? It’s nearly dinnertime, you see. I was hoping he could join us.”

“Congratulations, Mr. Allen,” Elliott interrupted the exchange before Barry had a chance to process and reply. He turned to see the Curator standing there, the office door open behind him. Barry swallowed hard as he took stock of the three red-robed guards standing in the hallway.

“I see you’ve discovered my little secret,” Elliot said, entering the office. He smiled at the other bow-tie man, the similarity between them uncanny.

“I’m afraid I’m going to be late, dad,” he said, and the man shrugged. “Don’t tell mom to wait up, will you? I have some business to take care of here.”

“Of course, son,” the man nodded. “Take however long you need. And – Mr. Allen?”

Barry blinked, looking at Elliott’s father in surprise. The man only gave him a gentle smile in return.

“You are welcome to join us as well. Any friend of our dear Elliott is a friend of ours. You have known each other for so long, after all.”

Barry managed a tight nod. Mr. Pax hit a button and the bookcase door closed, leaving Barry and Elliott and the guards alone again. Elliott’s smile disappeared as soon as his father was gone.

“You are very lucky I did not have eyes on you tonight, Mr. Allen. If I hadn’t been attending to the other exhibits, there would have been no way for you to get in here.”

“You rescued your parents, didn’t you?” Barry asked. “You stole them out of time, just before their accident or before they died, just like you did all those children.”

“So what?” Elliott’s eyes flashed. “Doesn’t a man deserve happiness, deserve his family back? You would do the same thing, Mr. Allen, I am sure of it –”

“I already did do the same thing, and it didn’t end well,” Barry said, biting off the words. “Not for my parents, or my family, or the world – you’re going to break time!”

“The first thing I did when I began my museum was rescue my parents,” Elliott shouted. “I faked their death records, their bodies, the accident, everything. No one would even know the difference! Not everyone is as important to the timeline as you, Flash.”

Barry wavered at Elliott’s sudden bitterness. He grabbed onto the desk chair, swallowing back sudden nausea. Had his headache grown? Were the drums in his head suddenly louder than before?

“What happened to you?” he asked. “We’re supposed to be the same age. You disappeared in fourth grade.”

“You want to know why?” Elliott guessed. “I came into contact with aliens, Barry. And no one believed me. They were – they were beings of pure light, of pure hope. But even they couldn’t help me achieve my goals. So I took their light, absorbed it, and began to use it for myself. I built this museum with one thought, rescued animals from extinction with a wave of my hand. But it all had a cost.”

“It made you old,” Barry said. He slumped into the desk chair, his head suddenly swimming. Elliott nodded. Were his eyes brighter?

“This museum is part of me, it sustains me,” Elliott said, his voice growing steadily stronger. “As do all the exhibits under my care and protection. That is why I have saved so many, don’t you see?”

“You’re using us,” Barry said, struggling to stay upright. “You’re – draining us to keep you alive.”

“To keep the entire museum alive,” Elliott corrected with a smile. “My sustained life is simply a beautiful addition.”

“What about your parents?” Barry asked. “Are you using them, too?”

Elliott laughed. “Of course not. Why do you think you are suddenly too weak to stand, Mr. Allen? My office is the only place truly connected to the outside world. And as such, you will die in here. Just the same as if you escaped outside, into Central City.”

“Central City?” Barry mumbled, sliding onto the floor. Elliott crouched beside him, his grin becoming even more maniacal.

“Of course. It will be our last stop. And soon I will have all your superfriends and family join you as fellow exhibits. I already have two, in addition to you. What will be a few more?”


	16. Waking Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> out-of-context spoilers for stargirl ahead!!

***

If anything, Barry was tired of waking up in unfamiliar places. He opened his eyes to a bright light next, flinching at the suddenness of it all. He blinked hard, and after a few moments, was able to stand up and look around to get a feel for where he was. He was standing in an all-white room, where the floor ended and the ceiling began practically indistinguishable from each other. Except for one wide wall, which had a long, infinite mirror. Barry walked over, tapping it experimentally. His own reflection did not stare back at him. The glass shifted and shimmered until he realized it wasn’t a mirror he was staring into, but a window. Two people he vaguely recognized were sitting on the floor, talking to each other before one looked up and recognized him.

“It’s the Flash,” she said, her voice muffled through the glass. “Rick, look, it’s him!”

“Are you okay, Mr. Allen?” The kid – Rick, apparently – asked. Barry nodded, putting a hand on the window pane.

“Yeah,” he said. A look of relief flashed across the girl’s face. “Yeah, I’m alright. Who – who are you?”

“We’re part of the JSA,” the girl said. “I’m Yolanda, and this is Rick. We were trying to rescue you –”

“Everyone back at your lab was debating it too much,” Rick said. “I guess now we know why.”

“You guys were with Supergirl and everyone,” Barry said. Yolanda nodded.

“I’m sorry we failed,” she said, putting her hand on the other side of the window to match Barry’s. “Courtney’s always talking about the importance of working together and everything. But we... we just didn’t listen.”

“I’m the one who convinced you to come,” Rick said. “If anything, this is my fault.”

“No, don’t start blaming yourself,” Barry interrupted, suddenly feeling a very weird case of deja-vu come over him. “That’s only going to distract you, make you less aware of everything. Do you guys see a door, anything that shows you a way out?”

Rick shook his head while Yolanda looked around the room. “We woke up in here. The last thing I remember was being greeted by that bow-tie man when we broke into the Museum.”

“You broke in?” Barry asked.

“Yeah,” Rick shrugged. “Yolanda’s Wildcat, she can scale anything. I have super-strength for an hour when I turn my hourglass – or at least I did.”

“The Curator must’ve given us something to suppress our powers,” Yolanda added. Barry nodded, breaking away from the window and beginning to pace.

“It’s a combination of drugs and our powers and lives being tied to the Museum now,” he began to explain. “The Curator – his real name is Elliott. He’s using us and all the exhibits here to sustain the Museum, to sustain his own life.”

“Exhibits?” Yolanda asked. “So he’s going to put us on display like how we found you?”

“That’s sick,” Rick said. “Do you know why he’s doing this, Mr. Allen?”

“Just –” Barry put his hands behind his head, stretching. “Just call me Barry, it’s fine. But he’s doing it for revenge. On me, on my wife, Iris, on all superheroes – he wants to be the driving force behind saving the planet singlehandedly. He thinks superheroes just get in the way of human progress, that they should be allowed to save themselves. He wants us where we belong, in museums, to educate people.”

“Well, we have to find a way to stop him,” Yolanda said, perturbed by all of this new information. “And get out of here while we still can.”

“Elliott has an office on the top floor,” Barry said. “I snuck up there while he was busy.... kidnapping you, I guess. It’s the only place that’s connected to the outside world, with all his files and computers and everything. It must have something that disables the Museum so that we’d be able to leave safely.”

“What happens if we don’t disable the Museum?” Rick asked. Barry didn’t answer. He leaned against the wall again, rubbing his temples.

“Look, we have to get you kids out of here as soon as possible, back to STAR Labs and everyone else. If he was able to kidnap you, then who knows how many others he’ll be able to?”

“To be fair, we weren’t exactly subtle,” Yolanda added. “What with scaling the walls and smashing the door in.”

“You don’t even know me,” Barry said abruptly. Yolanda stepped back from the window. “Why are you – _kids_ – risking your lives for a superhero you don’t even know?”

“With all due respect, sir,” Yolanda said, her voice tight. “We’re not just doing this for you. Well – we are, we did want to rescue you. But this is what the JSA does. This is what heroes do. We help people, Barry. Your whole team keeps calling us kids, like we don’t deserve to be superheroes like you and the rest of the adults. But we’ve saved Blue Valley from real threats, from real horrors. The Injustice Society of America was prepared to wipe out ten percent of the population to get what they wanted, and to mind control the rest. They killed our friends because they didn’t even care about human life. And I – _we_ – don’t want anyone else to die because of them, or any other villains that we had a chance to stop. So forgive us for trying to help someone in need. Because no one else is going to do it.”

She stepped up to the window again, swallowing hard when Barry didn’t look at her. Yolanda took a deep breath, addressing the Flash’s back.

“I know you think it’s noble to give yourself up so that others can be spared. But I don’t think this Curator is going to stop at that. He’s going to kidnap the rest of your team, and mine, and everyone else involved and he’s going to make us all watch while he drains them like he’s doing to us right now. So we can either let that happen, or we can fight, and still have a chance to get out of here.”

Barry still didn’t react. He drew a hand over his face, then started to laugh. Yolanda and Rick exchanged panicked looks.

“Mr. Allen?” Yolanda asked cautiously. Barry’s laugh petered out and he turned to look at the young superheroes, smiling ruefully.

“Thank you,” he said, hoarse but sincere. “Thank you, Yolanda. I think I – really needed to hear that right now.”

“So you’re with us?” Yolanda asked hotly. Barry nodded. He took a deep breath, the drums fading to the back of his mind and disappearing for the first time in days.

“Yeah, I’m with you. Let’s start working on a plan.”

***


	17. Spark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw for torture & again, out of context spoilers for stargirl!

“I hope you’ve gotten enough rest, friends,” Elliott boomed, startling Barry, Yolanda and Rick. They had all been huddled by the window for hours, exchanging information and plans through the glass as quickly as they could. Barry thought they could do it. He had to have hope that they could. He gave Yolanda and Rick a tight nod, then turned to face Elliott as he approached. He crouched down next to Barry, waving his lightning stick in the air like a baton.

“Plotting something, Mr. Allen?”

“West-Allen,” Barry said defiantly. Elliott tsked, making a move as if to hit Barry, but stopped at the last moment. He laughed as he watched him flinch. Barry glanced over to the window, standing up as Rick and Yolanda were pulled away by guards.

“Hey,” he started forward. “Hey, what’re you doing to them?!”

“Simply the next stage in the museum’s grand re-opening,” Elliott said. He grabbed Barry’s arm, shoving the lightning baton under his chin and forcing him to look through the window.

“What’re you doing to us?!” yelled Rick, who was forced back by a guard with a lightning baton of his own. The guard jabbed it at the teen, who doubled over and screamed in pain as the lightning crackled.

“Stop it!” Yolanda yelled, rushing over to help him. Barry yelled out a warning, but it was too late. Elliott released Barry, and stepped up to the window.

“Who are you?” he called. Rick looked up, struggling to meet Elliott’s harsh, dark eyes. He gritted his teeth.

“My name – is Rick Tyler. I’m Hourman. And you won’t get away with this –”

He was cut off by another scream. Barry rushed up to Elliott, frantically trying to pull him away.

“What are you doing?! You’re going to kill them, they’re just children –”

“They aren’t, as they’ve said themselves so many times today,” Elliott’s eyes flashed. He pushed Barry away, turning on the lightning baton. “Miss Montez said it herself – she and Rick are heroes, Barry. Why won’t you let them become who they want to be?”

“Tell me what you’re doing,” Barry insisted, putting his hands out to try and keep some distance between himself as Elliott advanced. “Tell me what you’re doing to them, and I’ll – I won’t fight it, I promise –”

“Your promises are empty, as always,” Elliott spat. “But why not? After all, you won’t be around much longer.”

Elliott smiled as Barry hit the wall with his back. The blue lightning shone, reflected in the man’s eyes as he looked down on Barry, who suddenly felt too small and too afraid, like a child again. He raised a hand, hoping to deflect the incoming blow.

“I’m setting up recordings for your exhibits tomorrow,” Elliott said. “Because I don’t have time to sit around and play these games with you all day, Barry. I want you drained and the museum strong so I can finally sit down and have a proper meal with my parents without any more interruptions.”

“Do they know what you’re doing?” Barry asked, slowly lowering his hand. A shadow of doubt passed across Elliott’s face, and Barry seized on it. “Do your parents know you’re hurting children, killing your friends just so you can live longer?”

“We are not friends, Mr. Allen,” Elliott said, and jabbed the lightning rod into Barry’s stomach. He screamed and screamed and screamed, falling to his knees while the drums beat louder in his head and finally coalesced into one final thought:

_My name is Barry Allen –_

_and I am the fastest man alive –_

***

Iris, Cisco, and Kara were first in line when the Museum officially opened in Central City the next morning, 8 AM sharp. They were the only team “officially” there, using Kara’s cover as a CATCO reporter and Cisco’s as a scientist to hide in the crowd. The others had their own ways of getting inside the Museum, some of which ended up less stealthily than others. Leo and Ray Terrill had infiltrated the security guards at the front along with Mick, Joe, and Ray. Brainy, J’onn, Nate, and Beth had co-opted the STAR Labs van and were on comms around the back of the building, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice. Most of the others had infiltrated school groups and other tours: Courtney was stuck with Graham, Ryan, Yaz, and Cecille pretending to be on a field trip from the UK. She regretted mentioning Yolanda and Rick’s kidnapping to Pat that morning, as she was sure he was going to show up at the worst possible moment. Still, she was kind of glad that that could still happen – even with this much backup and this many superheroes in one building, you could never be too careful.

The rest of the Legends were hanging out with Ralph in the food court, keeping their eyes on the red-robed guards as Beth fed them intel about Dr. Shiro Ito and how they used to work for him and the whole ISA. Alex joined Frost and the Doctor as they attempted to find a way into the basement prisons from the outside. Every team was in position. Every team had been prepped, briefed, and double-checked. There was almost no room for error.

Kara smiled at Ray as he let her, Iris and Cisco in through the doors without checking their bags – an essential part of the plan, as Iris had very carefully concealed a few dozen extra weapons next to her own. Whatever happened, she wanted to make sure she was not left defenseless. She stashed the bag behind a plant as they went in, nodding to Ray to make sure he knew for later. Kara led the way further inside, periodically scanning the crowds around them with her x-ray vision just to make sure there were no surprises waiting for him. Iris kept a watchful eye out for Elliott, her grip tightening around her purse whenever she saw a man with red hair or wearing a bow-tie.

“Is this thing on?” Graham’s voice crackled over comms, followed by the sound of Ryan sighing heavily. “You don’t have to take that tone with me, everyone’s communications systems are different –”

“Yes, it’s on,” Sara interrupted him. “Got anything to report?”

“Just that we’re headed in the opposite direction of anyone else,” Courtney answered. “Should we turn back and join you guys at –”

“No,” J’onn said. “Stick to the plan, Courtney. The ground team’s got this.”

“We’re headed up to the superhero wing now,” Cisco whispered. “Beth, Brainy, you still got eyes on everything we’re seeing?”

“Everything that’s important for rescuing Barry, Yolanda, and Rick,” Beth answered grimly. “We’ll share with everyone if it’s really necessary.”

“Got it,” Kara nodded, even though Beth couldn’t see her except through the museum security cameras. “Iris, Cisco –”

“Let’s go,” Iris said, and led the way into the superhero exhibit. She stopped halfway inside, buffeted by the crowds of small schoolchildren as they ran circles around her, pressing all the buttons on all the fun, interactive exhibits that lined the walls. Cisco and Kara stopped behind her, staring in horror at the bright, colorful wall decals, the informative plaques, and decorative museum things that surrounded them. And in the center of it all –

“Hi! My name is Barry Allen, and I’m the fastest man alive.”

Kara watched as a little, giggling girl hit the red button next to the Flash exhibit again, starting up the recording. She watched as the body of her friend spoke, watching as the same thing happened with Rick and Yolanda in the back of the room.

“Is everyone getting this?” she whispered into comms.

“Personally, I don’t see the issue here,” Mick spoke up. “He’s speaking, we know he’s alive, what’s the fuss?”

“Uh, the fuss is that no one ever reveals their secret identities out in public,” Cisco said. “And definitely not in a museum.” He glanced over as some of the chaperones exchanged startled looks when they heard the recording played.

“Some of these people definitely know Barry, or they’ve heard of him at the Central City PD. This is – this is so bad. I don’t even think I can describe how bad this is –”

“We’re gonna have to have a conference at the station this afternoon,” Joe said in shock. “I’m gonna have to meet with all the officers, the mayor, the city –”

“Every single villain in the world will know who the Flash is,” Kara muttered. “Cisco’s right. This is bad. This is really, really bad.”

“Is he alive?” Ralph asked softly. “Can – can someone find out?”

“I’m looking,” Beth responded, squinting at the security camera footage with Chuck. “It’s too far away. I’d have to be there with you guys for Chuck to read his vitals or anything.”

“Iris?” Kara asked, turning towards her friend. Iris approached her husband, slowly raising her hand as if to touch his. She looked up, trying to find any sign of life in Barry’s eyes, any sign that he could see or hear her at all. But all she saw was blankness. He stared straight ahead, mouth outstretched in the fakest, most plastic smile Iris had ever seen. She reached out and took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers together as she waited for any sort of sign. Iris could live with even the smallest spark of life. But not like this. Not when he was up on display like some grotesque mannequin.

“Barry?” she whispered, searching his dead eyes. “I’m here. We all are. Just give us something, anything –”

“Excuse me, Miss!”

Iris pulled her hand away and whirled around as a security guard rushed up to her.

“Miss, you’re not allowed to touch the exhibits.”

“I – I’m sorry,” Iris stammered, holding her hands together. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”

“Make sure that you don’t,” said the guard. Cisco and Kara rejoined Iris as the security guard walked away. Iris glanced back at Barry, still clutching her hand.

“I felt a spark,” she said. “A real one. He’s still in there. We still have this chance.”

“And for Yolanda and Rick,” Kara added. Iris nodded.

“We need to be ready for tonight. All of us.”

“Joe,” Cisco spoke into comms. He took one last look at the frozen Barry before making his way out of the exhibit room. “Delay the police conferences as much as you can. There’s still time to rescue him.”

“Courtney, Yaz?” Kara asked. “Cecille – are you in position with Graham and Ryan?”

“We’re ready, boss,” Cecille said. “We’ll wait for your signal at dusk.”

“Great. Legends?”

“Just praying that we don’t mess this one up,” Sara muttered. Ava shoved her, speaking into her comms.

“Sara means, yes, we’re all ready and standing by. Awaiting your orders, Kara.”

“Thanks, but – it’s all up to Iris now,” she said, and turned back to the woman. Iris had walked back over to Barry, her arms now folded over her chest, her eyes bright but determined.

“Iris?” Kara called.

“This is going to work,” Iris said softly. She looked up, staring directly into one of the security cameras on the wall. It blinked red, just once.

“We’re coming for you, Elliott. We will rescue everyone you’ve stolen from us. And most of all, we’re all getting out of here alive.”

She turned her back on Barry, on Kara, and the rest of the room. Iris rushed down the stairs and out the doors without a second look back. It was only when she’d started down the street that she began to cry.

***


	18. Night at the Museum, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beginning to think i should've named this whole fic "night at the museum" but honestly just couldn't resist, enjoy

THE MUSEUM OF THE WORLDS

EIGHT HOURS LATER

Elliott Pax hummed to himself as he wiped the last spot from a plate, turning off the sink and cleaning his hands with a towel as he put the plate away. Finally, he’d had one whole day to himself without any trouble. He’d explicitly told the guards only to contact him in case of an emergency, and so far, there hadn’t been any. Elliott was more than pleased at his first perfect day in ages, really. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d spoken and laughed with his parents in all these years. The last time they’d all sat around a dinner table like this, just chatting about anything, anything at all... he truly was a lucky man. His enemies had been conquered and vanquished, he was about to save the planet singlehandedly, and he could enjoy a simple dinner with his family. It really couldn’t get any better than this.

“I’m going to lock up, mom,” he called into the next room with a smile. “Make sure the Museum is safe and sound.”

“Thank you for dinner tonight, Elliott, it was lovely,” his mother called back. “I do hope you can come back tomorrow?”

“Of course,” Elliott laughed softly. “I’ll be here every night from now on. The only care the Museum needs now is a simple unlocking in the morning and locking up at night.”

“And what about inviting your old school friends over, hm?” asked his dad. “I know I saw Barry Allen the other day, how about that girl you used to talk about, Iris West?”

“You had such a crush on her,” his mother laughed. Elliott rolled his eyes.

“It was the fourth grade, mom, nothing special. Besides – her and Barry ended up together, actually.”

“Aw,” his mother tsked lightly. “A pity. You two would’ve made such a cute couple.”

“You know,” his father started. “I have to say – Barry didn’t look so well the other night. I do hope you haven’t caught anything he’s come down with.”

“I don’t think I will,” Elliott smiled tightly. “From what I hear, he has his hands full with work at the moment, both him and Iris. I’m afraid it’ll just be us for a while.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow, son,” his mother said fondly. Elliott waved goodbye to both of them, unlocked the door, and followed the tunnel back to his office at the museum. He knew something was wrong the moment he stepped inside his office. At first glance, it was the blue police box that gave it away. But the second –

“Hello, Elliott,” said the Doctor, absentmindedly playing with a Rubik’s cube she’d picked up from Elliott’s desk. Her feet dangled over the edge as she avoided the chair to sit on top of the smooth wooden mahogany. “I’d hoped it would be you.”

Elliott froze. “How did you get in here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” the Doctor set the Rubik’s cube down, gesturing towards the TARDIS. “Though you wouldn’t know that, would you?”

“Know what, about your ship?” Elliott asked sharply. The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

“I’d have thought after knowing each other for so long, you’d know to call it a TARDIS.”

“What do you want, Doctor?” Elliott asked, smoothing down his coat. He walked over to the small bar in the back, preparing to fix himself a drink.

“What I always want, I suppose,” the Doctor answered casually. “For people to be kind to others. To make the world a better place.”

“Yes, but what with me?” Elliott asked, and the Doctor tsked her tongue.

“Losing your temper already? Amateur. I’d have thought after so many successful kidnappings you’d know your way around a grown up’s world already.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You told me that we go way back,” the Doctor began. “But I don’t have the slightest clue who you are. Or I didn’t – that’s all changed, thanks to Kara. Now, that might be because of some kind of memory loss somewhere in there – I am over a thousand years old now, you know. Or it could be from one of my numerous incarnations that I’m just beginning to learn about – but somehow I don’t think it’s from one of those, either. See, Elliott – I know you know aliens. That big glowing ball of light you found when you were just nine years old? Now that’s something I go way back with. Not you, as a human. Though I would have to think the entirely new construction of a pocket dimension would’ve triggered some alarms.”

“What else do you know, Doctor?” Elliott asked, turning back to face her. She tilted her head, watching the man.

“I don’t think you know me at all,” she said. “But more than that, I think you’re lonely.”

Elliott laughed. “One out of two, doc. How could I be lonely? I have everything I’ve ever wanted.”

“Do you really?”

“Of course,” Elliott said, more confused than anything now. “How could I not?”

“Because I don’t think you are who you really say you are,” the Doctor said, easing off the desk. “I don’t think you’re really happy here at all. Sure, you have power. You even got revenge today, didn’t you? But it’s all meaningless, isn’t it? You want something else.”

Elliott looked down at the drink in his hands, then back up to the Doctor. Her eyes gleamed brightly.

“What’s in the drink, El?” she asked. She leaned forward, smelling it.

“That’s not alcohol, is it?”

“No,” Elliott whispered. “It’s not.”

“You’re missing the one thing you can’t have, now that you have your parents back,” The Doctor said. “Childhood. Growing up with your family. And you’re not finding it at the bottom of a bottle. Or with revenge, or killing your enemies. Are you?”

“Why are you here, Doctor?” Elliott sneered. The Doctor smiled thinly.

“Providing a distraction. Why else do you think I’m here?”

“What are you –”

Elliott fell to one side as the floor shook beneath his feet, the glass falling out of his hands and shattering on the ground. Apple juice spread across the floor, soaking into the rug. He gripped the table, gritting his teeth as he stared up at the Doctor.

“You!”

“Not me,” she answered. “Well, not quite. I’m afraid there’s a break-in happening, Elliott. And there’s nothing you can do now to stop it. Unless you come with me, right now, into the TARDIS. Let us rescue Barry, and Rick and Yolanda, and I’ll find some way to let you and your parents live out your lives in peace.”

“Never,” Elliott yelled. “Guards! GUARDS!”

“Then I’m truly very sorry,” The Doctor said. “But I can’t do anything to help you from now on.”

Elliott shoved his hands into his pockets, finding only air. He looked up to see the Doctor holding his remote, fingers hovering over the buttons.

“You’re going to tell me which button to press to save all your exhibits once they’re out of the museum. And you’re going to do it quickly.”

“The red one,” Elliott spat. The Doctor looked at him, severely disappointed.

“Don’t take me for a fool, Elliott Pax. I thought better of you. But you truly are what I thought you were.”

“And what’s that?” Elliott asked hoarsely.

“A child,” the Doctor said simply.

***

_barry_

...

_BARRY_

...

_can he hear us? is he alive?_

_we can’t do this without you, mr. west-allen –_

Barry opened his eyes, blinking hard as two faces hovered above him. He groaned as they helped him to his feet, their faces finally swimming into focus as he stood up.

“How long was I –”

“There’s no time,” Rick interrupted, letting go of Barry after he was sure he could stand on his own. “Something’s happening to the Museum. I think – we think it’s time.”

“Rick’s right,” Yolanda said. Barry blinked again, wavering on his feet as the floor shook wildly.

“What’s going on?” he asked. There was a pop, and the door to their cell sprang open, tumbling wildly to the ground with a crash as the shaking increased all around them. The same happened to all the other cages in the same row, letting loose all kinds of historical people and animals. Barry looked around in bewilderment as Yolanda grabbed his arm to pull him forward.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for!” she yelled over the tumult. “This is our way out, we have to run!”

“Stick to the plan,” Barry yelled back. “You and Rick get out of here, take all the animals and people you can. I’ll go to Elliott’s office and shut off the Museum –”

“We’re not leaving you behind!” Rick yelled, buffeted by the crowd streaming out in all directions around them. People hollered and hooted, elephants trumpeted and birds squawked as they all made a beeline for the stairs. Rick reached for Yolanda, grabbing hold of her hand. She reached out for Barry as he fought being pushed away by the crowd, his face tight and drawn.

“Go!” he yelled. “This is what we agreed to do! I’ll – I’ll meet you outside, I promise.”

“What if you don’t?!” cried Yolanda.

“Just go!” Barry yelled. He watched as Rick and Yolanda grabbed onto a running bear, hoisting themselves up as the crowd flooded out of the basement prisons. Barry held on for as long as he could, finally surging forward with the crowd. The noise was almost deafening around him, the most triumphant collection of sounds he had ever heard. Barry allowed himself to be pushed forward, up the stairs and into the museum foyer, which was overrun with every possible exhibit there could ever be. He sidestepped a hooting gorilla, narrowly avoided a 16th-century pirate brandishing a sword, and dodged a lion’s paw as it growled at everything in its path. He stared as he saw Kara, J’onn and Superman flying overhead, red beams shooting out from their eyes as they attacked the museum. Dust and rubble fell from the ceiling, and Kara caught each piece before any of them hit the fleeing exhibits. He watched as the Legends engaged in a shoot-out with the guards, Stargirl joining them with her cosmic staff. Ralph and Frost protected Cisco as he worked to disable some wiring in the wall, and Joe, Leo and Ray fended off more guards from the hallways above the foyer. Then, impossibly, the crowd cleared, and he thought he saw –

“Iris?” he called. She turned to look at him from where she was standing on the museum desk overseeing the chaos. She broke into a smile as she met his eyes, and the next thing Barry knew they were both running towards each other, wrapping their arms around each other and finally embracing for the first time in what felt like weeks.

“You’re alive,” she marveled. Barry actually smiled at that.

“I’m alive,” he said back, laughing. “How are you --?”

“There’s no time to explain,” Iris interrupted. “You need to get out of here, meet us all back at STAR Labs. The Doctor is dealing with Elliott right now –”

“The Doctor? But how --?”

“Barry, you need to go now, promise me,” Iris said, desperation starting to cloud her voice. She placed a hand on Barry’s face, searching his haunted eyes.

“I can’t,” he said. “I’ll die if the Museum isn’t turned off, Iris, it’s like it’s a part of me now –”

“We’ll take care of it,” Iris said, reluctantly letting go of him. “Just go, Barry. I’ll see you back after all of this is over.”

“You promise?” Barry asked, smiling a little at how earnest he sounded. Iris laughed softly, leaning in to kiss him again.

“I promise. Now run, please!”

Barry stepped back from Iris, refusing to let go of her hand. She squeezed it, and then let go for him. He remained there for a moment, his arm slightly outstretched, then walked back into the crowd again. He didn’t turn his back on Iris for even a second. His back hit something large and furry, and before he had a chance to turn, a huge trunk wrapped itself around his body and lifted him up into the air. Barry turned to look down at the woolly mammoth’s large eyes as it deposited him onto its back. He leaned forward, grabbing its fur to hang on for dear life as it joined the escaping stampede.

“STOP! STOP!”

Barry turned as the woolly mammoth also turned to look. Elliott hurried down the stairs, followed by the Doctor, waving his arms frantically. Barry frowned. Did Elliott look shorter somehow? Had part of his hair grown back?

“Watch out!” the Doctor yelled as a warning. “He got the remote back, he can control the museum again!”

“You can’t leave, please!” Elliott begged. Iris shouldered her weapon, leveling it at the man. Barry had never seen her look so furious.

“And why not?!” she yelled. “You kidnapped my husband, you kidnapped countless children – all for what, Elliott? Revenge? Look around. Your museum is coming to an end.”

“Please,” Elliott said, desperate. “We can – we can figure out a way where everyone gets what they want, Iris. I know what I did was wrong, I swear. I should never have done any of it. All I ever wanted was to spend time with my parents again. Surely you can understand that. Surely – all of you can understand that?”

He raised his hands in surrender, looking around at the superheroes. Iris walked towards him, the disgust plain on her face.

“None of us would ever do what you did just to get our families back,” she said. “Ever.”

“Iris,” Barry called, and everyone turned to look at him hanging off the back of the woolly mammoth. “Iris, let him go.”

“Barry, no –”

“We can take him back to STAR Labs,” Barry continued. “Like you said – rehabilitation, right?”

“Oh, I don’t think I’m going anywhere with you,” Elliott sneered, and pressed the red button on the remote control. The crowd burst into chaos again, and the exhibits ran for their lives. The Doctor tackled Elliott to the ground, wrestling the remote from his grasp. Iris hit him with the butt of her gun, knocking him out. She turned to look at the fleeing crowd, but Barry and the woolly mammoth were gone.

“Elliott? Elliott, what’s going on?”

Iris whipped her head around as two vaguely familiar adults stumbled out of the dust and debris, clutching each other’s arms. The woman looked down at Elliott, then back up at Iris, her eyes aghast.

“What did you do to my son?!”

“Mr. and Mrs. Pax?” Iris asked, bewildered.

“What is going on?” asked Mr. Pax, his voice faint as he stared around at all the chaos. “Is this Elliott’s museum?”

“We need to get out of here!” Kara yelled suddenly, flying down beside them. “The building’s about to collapse! Are all the exhibits gone?”

“They’re all clear,” Frost said, hurrying up to join the rest of the heroes.

“Let’s just hope the signal from STAR Labs worked,” Cisco chimed in. “And we’ll find them all there.”

“Including Barry,” the Doctor said. “Kara’s right, we need to leave, right now. Mr. and Mrs. Pax –”

“Please, take us with you!” Mrs. Pax begged. Mr. Pax scooped up Elliott in his arms, staring in disbelief.

“He’s a child again,” he said. “Our Elliott.”

“Of course we’re taking you with us,” the Doctor said. “Now!”

“Where’s your TARDIS?!” J’onn yelled over the falling façade. The Doctor shook her head.

“Just follow the exhibits,” she said, racing back up the staircase. “I’ll meet you all at STAR Labs!”

“Come on!” Courtney screamed from the doors. “Everybody out!”

Everyone ran for the entrance as the museum finally collapsed behind them, crumbling into smithereens. Iris stared at the wreckage in shock. Yaz ran up to the group, her smile fading as she counted heads.

“Where’s the Doctor?” she asked.

***

Central City had never seen anything quite like this stampede before. An entire Noah’s Ark and then some raced through the streets, forcing cars to stop and blare their horns as they ran across roads, ignored traffic lights, and even made pedestrians stop and stare. Barry hung on to the woolly mammoth as tight as he could, finally managing the strength to sit up and stare at the city they passed in a blur. He could breathe the city air again, he could feel the wind and rainwater on his face as the woolly mammoth ran. Barry turned his face up to the sky, laughing in joy as the rain pelted him from above. He looked around and marveled at the lights around him, at the confused people walking down below on the sidewalks. Barry even waved at some of them, laughing with delight. He would see STAR Labs and Iris and everyone again, he would have the chance to finally sleep and wake up in his own bed, his own apartment, next to his amazing wife. Barry looked down as speedforce energy crackled around his hands once more, grinning as they started moving at the speed of light again. He laughed until he was crying, almost dizzy with the chance to have his speed back. To be the Flash again, now and forever. He looked ahead, smiling as STAR Labs came into focus. He was home.

But then the woolly mammoth stumbled. Barry felt a jolt of pain in his side, and he let out a cry. He doubled over as his heartbeat ramped up, his breathing became short, and his vision started to fade. _No._ This couldn’t be happening. They had to have destroyed the Museum, had to have severed the connection. Barry could feel himself slipping away as he and the woolly mammoth finally reached the entrance to STAR Labs, could feel himself becoming weaker and weaker with each passing minute. He looked down at his hands. They trembled. His lightning was gone.

Barry slipped off the woolly mammoth’s back, crumpling to the ground. He tried to get up, tried to stand and walk to the doors, to join the other exhibits inside. Dimly he thought he saw Nash run to the doors, opening them in a panic. Barry collapsed, closing his eyes to the rain and the sky and the city. He didn’t move again.


	19. Not The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for sticking with this so far everyone -- hope you like the ending :)

“Barry? Barry, oh my god –”

Iris ran up to STAR Labs as quick as she could, falling to her knees in front of the doors. She grabbed Barry’s hand, cradling him in her arms.

“No,” she said, soft. “No, this can’t end like this. This can’t be –”

Everyone else fell into line around her, quieting as they saw what had happened. Cisco ran forward, throwing open the doors to STAR Labs.

“What are you waiting for?!” he yelled. “Get him inside, he needs help –”

“Cisco,” Caitlin interrupted. “He’s not breathing.”

“I don’t care if he’s not breathing, we’re Team Flash, there has to be a way –”

The wind picked up and suddenly a blue police box solidified into reality at the back of the crowd. Yaz turned to look as the door creaked open, and out stepped the Doctor.

“Doctor,” she said. “We’re too late.”

Ryan and Graham followed her, watching as the Doctor pushed herself to the forefront of the crowd.

“It’s true,” Ryan said. “Barry’s gone.”

The Doctor crouched down next to Iris and Barry, her gaze solemn and drawn. She flicked her eyes up to Iris’.

“Do you trust me?”

Iris nodded. The Doctor straightened up, turning back around to call to the TARDIS.

“Come on out, Elliott.”

The door creaked open again, and a little red-headed boy emerged, poking his head out just enough to look out at the crowd. He slowly left the confines of the TARDIS, hesitantly walking through the crowd until he was at the Doctor’s side. In his hands he held a bright, glowing ball of light. Iris looked up at him.

“How will that help us?”

“Barry still has his connection to the speedforce,” the Doctor explained. Elliott let the ball go and it floated up into the air, hovering over Barry’s still form. It pulsed gently twice, then abruptly burst into a shocking surge of light that rained down on all. The Doctor gently grabbed Iris’ arm, pulling her away as the lights dissolved into Barry’s body.

“All it needs,” continued the Doctor, “Is one spark to let it run free again.”

Iris kept her eyes glued to Barry, waiting with baited breath. Kara looked up into the now clear sky, momentarily wondering what had happened to the rain. The very air seemed charged, electricity hanging all around them.

Iris saw it first. The smallest of sparks, leaping from Barry’s hand and dying on the pavement. Then another, and another, and another until he was surrounded by leaping, dancing golden sparks and finally opened his eyes. Iris gasped, holding a hand to her mouth as she started to laugh. Barry smiled hesitantly, looking down at his hands as he sat up in shock. Iris staggered forward, wrapping her arms around him so tightly that he thought she’d never let him go.

“I am never letting you out of my sight, ever again,” Iris laughed through her tears. Barry smiled, embracing her as he looked over her shoulder and up into the crowd of friends and family that had done so much for him. But his smile faltered as Iris helped him to his feet.

“Yolanda, Rick,” he said, hoarse. “Where are –”

“Here!” yelled Beth. She ran out of STAR Labs, leading both Rick and Yolanda behind her. Courtney ran forward and grabbed them all in a giant hug, starting to cry a little herself.

“Don’t ever disobey orders again!” she laughed. “You could’ve gotten yourselves killed!”

“We’re alright, I promise,” chuckled Yolanda, who walked up to Barry. “All thanks to you, Mr. West-Allen.”

“I was wrong,” Barry said, smiling softly. “Only to think of you as kids at first. I should’ve called you heroes from the start.”

“Thanks,” Rick said. Yolanda elbowed him.

“We’re just glad you’re okay,” she said. Barry smirked, letting go of Iris and going in for a hug with the JSA. He turned around and came face to face with Kara and Alex.

“How about we run that marathon together next week, huh?” Kara asked, pulling Barry in for a hug. He smiled bemusedly, shooting her a confused look.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Kara shook her head, smiling ruefully. “Just glad you’re alive, Barry.”

“Hey, don’t think you’re getting off too easily,” Cisco said. “I think this moment calls for the biggest group hug we’ve ever done.”

Barry rolled his eyes. “Cisco...”

“Too late,” he said, and pretty soon Barry was surrounded by everyone who had joined together to rescue him. He felt a pressure on his hand, and looked over to see Iris had grabbed him. She smiled dazzlingly up at him.

“You’re okay, Bar,” she said softly. Barry laughed, the sound quickly turning into somewhere between a choke and a cry. Iris held him as he broke down, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. Barry was okay. He was free. He was alive. But most of all, he was with his family again. If he was going to remember anything from all of this in the coming months, it would be this moment right here, the moment where he finally escaped and was surrounded by people who cared about him again. The pain, the sadness, the fear would still be there, and Barry didn’t think it would ever go away. But somehow, that was okay.

He was safe. He had Iris. He was alive.

And that was all that mattered.

***

CENTRAL CITY

ONE WEEK LATER

“Back again, West-Allens?”

Barry and Iris sat on the couch across from Dr. Sharon Finkel in her office as the fading sunlight streamed in through the window.

“You know us,” Iris attempted a smile. “Can’t stay away for that long.”

“It’s been two years,” Dr. Finkel said with an extremely pointed look. Barry smiled thinly.

“There’s been... a lot going on.”

“I’m sure,” Dr. Finkel looked down at her notebook, scribbling down a sentence. Barry gave Iris a look, who gave him an encouraging nod in return. He shifted on the couch, clearing his throat.

“There’s, um, something a little more serious we’d like to talk to you about today, Dr. Finkel. I was, uh, I was kidnapped a little over two weeks ago, and I think –“ Barry paused, looking at Iris. “both of us would like your help working through it.”

Dr. Finkel’s pen froze on the page as she peered up at the couple over the top of her glasses.

“Well,” she began, setting her pen down to truly look at the pair. “That does sound like a lot. I can certainly help you talk through it, Barry, Iris. I can also recommend a therapist who deals especially with recent trauma if you would like the extra hand.”

“Yeah,” Barry said, swallowing hard. “Yeah, yeah, of course. And – Dr. Finkel, um. Everything we say in here is confidential, right?”

“Of course.”

Barry leaned forward slightly. “I – I’m the Flash.”

Dr. Finkel sighed heavily, taking off her glasses to stare him down.

“Barry, it’s been all over the news for the past week and a half. Why else do you think I would agree to see you and Iris after two years of nearly no communication at all?”

“Uh –"

Iris grabbed her phone out of her bag as it started to blink harshly. She showed it to Barry, shooting Dr. Finkel an apologetic look.

“Babe, we’ve gotta go.”

Barry stood up, grimacing. “Sorry for this again, Dr. Finkel, but it’s the police press conference and we –”

“Go!” Dr. Finkel threw her hands up in the air, but smiled anyways. “Go. You’ll be seeing a bill in the mail later this week. I hope your address hasn’t changed, Mr. and Mrs. Flash?”

Now it was Iris’ turn to grimace. “You really don’t have to call us that –”

“I’m joking! Your secret is safe with me,” Dr. Finkel winked. “My book club wouldn’t even believe me if I told them the Flash goes to therapy.”

“We’ll see you next week,” Iris smiled slightly. She looked over at Barry.

“You ready?”

Barry breathed deeply. “Ready.”

He took Iris’ hand and ran to the police station. Dr. Finkel brushed her hair out of her face, startled by the sudden burst of lightning as quickly as it was gone. She got up, smiled, and closed the swinging open door.

“Always knew those two were different,” she chuckled to herself.

***

“You made it,” Joe breathed a sigh of relief as Barry and Iris joined him in the entryway of the Central City Police Department, just outside the larger foyer where numerous reporters, officers, and even the Mayor were stationed.

“Just in time,” Barry smiled. He wavered on his feet, and Iris grabbed his arm to steady him, concern leaping into her eyes.

“Are you sure you’re okay for this?”

“Yeah,” Barry looked at her, straightening up with a grimace. He pressed a hand to his side lightly, breathing deeply. “I’m good. Promise.”

“Speedforce healing still working slowly, huh?” Joe asked, knitting his eyebrows together. “That Curator –”

“Elliott,” Barry and Iris chorused. Joe waved a hand.

“Sorry, _Elliott_ – he really did a number on you, didn’t he?”

“I’ll be alright, I promise, Joe,” Barry repeated. “Wally won’t be the city’s only Flash for long.”

“Good,” Joe grunted. “Because I think he’s getting a little too used to it, if you ask me.”

“Captain?”

Everyone turned to look as an officer opened the door, the babble from the crowd spilling out into the hallway.

“They’re ready for you now.”

“Thanks,” Joe said. The officer went back inside, and Joe looked Barry in the eyes.

“Are you sure you want to do this, son?”

“I’m sure,” Barry said, injecting as much conviction as he could into his voice. “The city deserves to know the truth.”

Joe exhaled, touching his forehead. “Alright. But before you go –”

“I got this,” Barry interrupted, already walking to the doors. “Joe, it’s alright. I can do this.”

Joe nodded, letting him go. Barry pushed open the doors, disappearing inside the foyer. Joe sighed, looking back down at Iris.

“Should we have told him?”

“No,” Iris smiled. “No, I think it’s better this way.”

There was a small beep as the doors opened, and in walked Barry wearing his red Flash suit. He stared at Iris and Joe.

“Did you tell Barry the plan?’ J’onn rumbled. Joe started to laugh.

“I think he’ll figure it out soon enough.”

***

“Uh, hi. My name is Barry Allen –”

Barry jerked back as the microphone squawked in protest. He winced, tapping it experimentally as he leaned forward to speak again. Dozens of rows of officers and reporters lined the precinct, watching and waiting to see what he would say.

“ – and I work as a CSI here with Central City PD. Most of you know me as Iris’ husband, too, uh, Captain West’s son-in-law. But I also live another life.”

Barry took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to say.

“About two weeks ago, I was kidnapped by an interdimensional being who wanted revenge on me and my family. The problem is, so was the Flash. Many of you went to the museum exhibition where I was being held. Many of you heard the recording of my voice, saying I was the fastest man alive. And – I’m here today to tell you that is true. I am Barry Allen. And I am also the –”

“Don’t lie to them, Barry,” interrupted a voice. The crowd gasped as the Flash walked up to the podium, standing next to Barry. Barry, for his part, did a double take and let go of the microphone. He looked closer as the fake Flash raised his hand, waving to the buzzing crowd.

“J’onn?” Barry whispered. “What are you doing?”

“Just go with it,” J’onn whispered back, and stepped up to the microphone.

“Barry Allen and I have been associates and close friends for a very long time,” J’onn began. “So much so that my nemesis, the Curator, felt he had to kidnap us both in order to get what he truly wanted: revenge against me, the Flash. The truth is, Barry Allen saved my life in the museum. Without him or his family, there would be no Flash. So I ask you Central City, to give us both time to heal from this strenuous ordeal. One that my friend endured bravely even to the point of death and covering up my identity for the sake of protecting me, this city, and even the world. Please: friends, colleagues, and Mr. Mayor: do not congratulate me on a job well done. Congratulate – Mr. Barry West-Allen.”

The crowd broke into thunderous applause. J’onn gestured for Barry to join him, and took his hand to raise them both into the air.

“Nice speech,” Barry mumbled. “Does my chin really look that big in my suit?”

“Concentrate on smiling, Barry,” J’onn advised. “These people are here for you, not me.”

“Always practical,” Barry said back, glancing over. “Do you do this with Kara, too?”

“Only when necessary,” J’onn said. The crowd’s cheers died down, and he pulled Barry in for a quick hug.

“Go be with your family, Flash,” he said. “You deserve it.”

Barry broke away first, smiling sadly.

“There’s someone I have to visit first.”


	20. Party People

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look, call me cheesy but i just think all the arrowverse crossovers just need a giant party at the end of each one. they deserve it :)

STAR LABS

“Barry, my man!” yelled Chester as Barry ran into STAR Labs less than a minute after the police conference. “Excuse the mess, we’re, uh, just cleaning up –”

“What is going on here?” Barry asked, taking a double look behind him as a dodo bird walked past. “Wait, did the Doctor not come by yet?”

“Caitlin’s been calling, and calling, and calling, but she hasn’t picked up once,” Kamilla interjected. She chased after a howling caveman whose beard was still ignited. “She’s probably busy returning all those kids –”

“Yeah, but what about stopping STAR Labs from turning into the next Central City Petting Zoo?” Cisco yelled, shoving a giraffe aside as he made his way to the computers. “Honestly, if this keeps up for the next month, I’m looking for another job.”

“Hey, you can’t quit!” Barry laughed. He turned as a large, furry trunk hit his shoulder, trying to get his attention. He put out his hand, patting the giant woolly mammoth as it sat down comfortably on the floor. “I literally just came back from the dead. You can handle a giraffe or two for a few days.”

“Can you just run them to the sub-Saharan desert?” Cisco complained. “They won’t know the difference between 2020 and wherever time period they’re originally from.”

“If you want to explain to the government why there’s suddenly ten more giraffes in the world than there were previously, then go ahead.”

“It’s called expanding the population, Barry!”

“How are you holding up?” Kamilla asked, putting the dust pan and brush away for the moment. “Iris has told us things at work, but, you know...”

“Wait, Iris tells you things about me when you’re at work?” Barry asked, making a face. Kamilla rolled her eyes.

“Don’t act so surprised. We just want to make sure you’re doing okay.”

“I’m fine, I promise,” he insisted. “Or at least I will be. Cisco, you ready?”

“Ready for what?” Cisco asked, grabbing his jacket and feigning surprise. “Oh, you mean ready to visit the nine-year old who kidnapped and tortured you last week, only to have him be turned into a little kid again and be absolved of his sins?”

“Cisco –”

“I kid, I kid!” Cisco held up his hands in surrender. “I’m not absolving Mr. Elliott Pax of anything.”

“People can change,” Barry reminded him. Cisco scoffed.

“Yeah, okay, I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Cisco...”

“How can you be so calm about it?” Cisco suddenly snapped. “Barry – he drained you of your speed. He killed you, and if it hadn’t been for the Doctor –”

“Maybe if you didn’t remind me of my own death every fifteen minutes it would get a little easier,” Barry gave him a look, then sighed. “Trust me, I’m not – I’m just as angry as you are. I swear. If it had been you, or Iris, or Caitlin who was kidnapped, I’m sure I –”

“What, so just because it was you, you think you have to put on a brave face and bear it?” Cisco asked, meeting his eyes. Barry didn’t answer. Cisco let out a long-suffering sigh.

“Fine. I get it. You’re the hero, you have to be cool about these things. Well – how do you think I feel, how Iris feels? These weekly meetings aren’t going to do anything to help you, or Elliott. All they’re going to do is give him the upper hand again! What if he wants to kidnap you again, or does something worse next time? The Doctor can’t bring you back from death two times in a row –"

Barry glanced around at the room, noticing how Kamilla and Chester had stopped their work to stare at him and Cisco arguing. He shook his head, grabbed his best friend and ran from STAR Labs to the lawn of the Pax house in less than a second. He steadied himself and Cisco once they had arrived on the lawn, wincing slightly.

“Look, man,” he began, rubbing his chin. “We have to try, okay? We have to try no matter what. Because – because I don’t want any of us to end up like him, you know? All that anger and all that regret, it was – suffocating. Just – please, Cisco. I know you’re worried. But I’m – I’m terrified.”

“Bar –”

“And I need your support,” Barry finished, cutting Cisco off. “In this, in – in everything. Please. Don’t let what happened ruin the plan for STAR Labs and everything, alright? We can’t expect to start up our whole mental health initiative and leave some criminals out just because of what they’ve done.”

Cisco looked away, marching up to the Pax’s porch. Barry followed, waiting as Cisco rang the doorbell. Finally, he hung his head, turning back around to look his friend in the face.

“Fine,” Cisco said. “I hear you. But that doesn’t mean neither of us don’t get to be angry about – all this.”

Barry nodded just as the door swung open. “I know.”

“Mr. Ramon, Mr. West-Allen!” Mrs. Pax smiled as she held the door open for them to enter. “You’re just in time. Go on through – Elliott’s in the living room as usual.”

“Thanks,” Barry said, his smile turning tight. Mrs. Pax closed the door behind them both as they entered the charming suburban house. Cisco led them down the hallway into the living room, where they found Elliott sitting on the floor, surrounded by trucks and blocks and other toys strewn about. He held up a helicopter, flying it through the air and making motor sounds before he saw his visitors.

“You’re back,” Elliott said, putting the helicopter down. Cisco grimaced, trying to smile as he sat down on the couch, Barry right behind.

“Yup, we’re back alright,” Cisco said. Elliott sat up, staring at them both with his dark eyes.

“I thought you said last week would be the last time you’d come to visit.”

“Uhhhhh,” Cisco began, which was not a great start. He threw a helpless look to Barry, who tried to recover the conversation.

“Last week was the last week Iris said she’d be coming,” he said quietly, avoiding Elliott’s dark look. “But it’s just me and Cisco this time, so, um. We’d just like to talk.”

“About my Museum?” Elliott guessed. “That’s what we talked about last time.”

“Yes, the Museum,” Cisco said. “Do you still not remember anything, about the exhibits, or kidnapping anyone?”

“Nothing,” Elliott shrugged. “Except...”

Cisco and Barry exchanged glances. “Except what?”

“I kidnapped you, didn’t I?” Elliott asked, looking right at Barry. “You don’t want to look at me. You’re scared of what I could do to you.”

His statement hung in the air for a precious moment. Cisco broke the silence with a short cough.

“And, um. Elliott. You do know that kidnapping is wrong, right? You know that – what you did was wrong, and it hurt a lot of people.”

“Yes,” Elliott said, casually returning to his helicopters. “I know.”

“Okay, then we’re done here!” Cisco plastered on a smile and stood up, making the move to leave. “Come on, Barry. You heard the little guy.”

“What?” Barry shot him a look, and then looked back at Elliott, remaining where he was. “Cisco, no.”

“What else is there to say?” Elliott asked innocently. Then his face crumpled, and he started to sniff back tears. “I know I did a lot of bad things, Mr. Allen. And I’m really, really sorry. But I – I just want to live with my parents. You understand that, don’t you?”

“I –” Barry looked down at the little boy, then over to Cisco, who was waving him on out of the living room.

“I – yeah, yeah, I do. I’ll be right there!” he added this last part to Cisco, who just sighed, and went to wait at the front door. Immediately, Elliott dried his tears and looked Barry dead in the eyes.

“And I would do it all again in a heartbeat, Mr. Allen. If you or any of your friends ever threaten me or my family again, there will be nowhere you can run to escape from me, ever again.”

Barry froze in the entryway as Elliott advanced on him. He blinked, and for a moment they were back in the museum with all the terror and fear that came with that place. He watched helplessly as Elliott smiled, raising the remote control to finally do what he had meant to do –

“Barry!”

Barry turned to see Cisco right behind him, Elliott’s parents not too far behind. Elliott immediately burst into tears.

“I never want to see Mr. Allen again, he just keeps reminding me of everything bad I’ve ever done –”

“You kidnapped our friends,” Cisco said with a sudden fierceness. “You put everyone through hell –”

“Mr. Ramon,” Mrs. Pax interrupted. “I think it’s time for both of you to leave.”

Barry nodded. He glanced back at Elliott, who smiled at him when his parents’ backs were turned. He held up his hand, and Barry felt his stomach drop. He still held the remote with the red button.

“We’ll be back next month, Mrs. Pax,” Barry said, and grabbed Cisco. “Maybe in three.”

He ran them both back to STAR Labs. Immediately, Barry sank into a chair, covering his head in his hands.

“Okay, so what happened back there?” Cisco asked, crossing his arms. “Because you looked like you saw a ghost.”

“Maybe you were right,” Barry said tiredly. He didn’t lift his face from his hands. “When you left, he – he said he’d do it all again if we ever threatened him or his family again. He had the same remote control, Cisco, what if – what if --?”

“Hey, hey,” Cisco said softly. He put a hand on Barry’s shoulder. “We don’t ever have to see that little tyke ever again. I know you’re just trying to do the right thing, but – I don’t want you to have to be reminded of what that little shit did to you every single week. You don’t have to be. We can – we can get back to saving the world, to running Team Flash again. We can run the Barry-O-Tron one last time, make sure all the drugs and everything are out of your system like they should be. Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Barry said, finally uncovering his face. He looked up, only expecting to see Cisco there. But the whole gang had entered when he hadn’t been looking: Ralph, holding his book and a party hat; Nash, holding a giant cake and looking extremely guilty about being caught; Cecille and Joe and Wally and Caitlin and Chester and Kamilla. Iris burst through the doors with several large bags.

“I’m not late, am I?!” she asked. “I grabbed all the food I could get, plus plates and everything else –”

“Iris...” Joe warned. She stopped in her tracks, finally noticing Barry.

“Oh,” she said, trying to smile casually. “Hey, babe.”

“What’s – what’s all this?” Barry asked, incredibly confused. Cisco only grinned, breaking away to present the party.

“This is why we needed you out of STAR Labs for the past hour or so,” he said. “We needed to get ready.”

“Ready for...?”

“Your party, of course!” Ralph shouted, grabbing a champagne bottle from who-knows-where and popping it open. Foam sprayed everywhere, and everyone yelled.

“Ralph!”

“What? Oh, come on, it’s a celebration!”

“Hey, looks like the rest of the guests have arrived,” Caitlin said, glancing over at the computers. “Barry, go ahead and let them in, will you?”

“Me?” Barry pretended to be offended. “But isn’t this my party?”

“Go, Bar,” Joe laughed. “It’s their party too.”

Barry ran to the front doors, opening them one after the other. He finally slowed to a stop, and Rick and Yolanda immediately grabbed him in two giant hugs.

“Surprise!!” Courtney and Beth squealed. Courtney held up a bag.

“My mom and step-dad baked a cake, even though I told them Nash had it covered – you don’t mind two cakes, do you?”

“We might need more than just two for everyone,” Kara spoke up from behind. Barry laughed, smiling until he was sure he couldn’t anymore as Kara, Alex, J’onn, Brainy, Nia and Clark and Lois all showed up.

“We couldn’t just leave our favorite speedster alone on a day like today,” Clark said, going in for a hug.

“We’re just glad you’re okay,” added Lois. “If you ever need someone to talk to, I’ve been kidnapped because of Clark many, many times. I’m here for anything you need.”

“Thanks?” Barry said, still managing to smile. He froze as a large shadow covered them all, and looked up to see a silver and red metal... robot man? walking towards the group. It had a blue ‘S’ on its chest, along with glowing red eyes. Kara and Clark readied their heat rays, while Barry took off speeding around the giant machine man.

“Wait!” Courtney yelled, flying up on her staff in front of the robot. “Wait, stop! This is my step-dad!”

Barry skidded to a halt, taking another look at the scene. “What?”

The metal man waved a hand as if to wave hello. It lowered itself onto the pavement and powered down. A hatch sprang open and out popped a man with straggly brown hair and a beard.

“Hi!” yelled Pat Dugan. “Hope I’m not too late? The Doctor dropped me off about fifty miles back that way, I had to use my GPS!”

“He’s kind of over-protective,” Courtney muttered when she was back down by Kara’s side. Barry shrugged, waving him on in.

“Party hasn’t even started yet!” he called as Pat climbed out of the STRIPE suit. “You’re just in time!”

“Speaking of the Doctor,” Kara interjected with a frown. “Where is she?”

“I got a call from Yaz, and she said something about daleks in London,” Iris called from the doorway, ushering everyone inside. “And before you ask, no, I have no idea what daleks are.”

“Let’s all get inside,” Barry said, throwing an arm around Iris’ shoulders. He was still smiling. “I think I could stand to get this show on the road, don’t you?”

Iris hugged him back as they led the way inside. STAR Labs had been decked out in streamers and a huge CONGRATULATIONS banner. All the museum exhibits wandered around, most dancing in time to the music that was now thudding through the speakers. The woolly mammoth walked over to Barry and Iris, almost knocking them over as it found a spot on the floor. Everyone cheered and partied late into the night, dancing and singing and laughing all their cares away. Finally, Barry broke away from the party, stepping outside for some fresh air. Iris joined him a moment later.

“Hey. You okay?”

Barry looked as she walked over, nodding.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.”

Iris raised an eyebrow. “Barry.”

“Fine,” Barry smiled thinly, ducking his head. “I’m getting there.”

“That’s better,” Iris joined him at the railing.

“It’s okay if you’re not okay,” she said quietly. “It’s normal.”

“Yeah, but – I’m not normal, Iris. I’ve gone through – through so much these past few years alone,” Barry said, meeting her eyes. “Why is it – this – that finally cuts so deeply, huh? Why does – these past few weeks – have to affect me so much more than anything else?”

Iris shrugged. “Maybe... at a certain point, life just – catches up to you. And that can be very small, or very big, depending on what’s going on. And it can be just so overwhelming, because you don’t think you’ve ever felt this way before. But maybe you have, in very small batches that you don’t even notice the build-up. Until one day you do, and it’s there, and no matter what, you can’t outrun it. But you can deal with it, and hope that things will be a little brighter on the other side.”

“Where did you get all that?” Barry smirked slightly. Iris laughed and rolled her eyes. She nudged Barry in the shoulder.

“From my heart, where else do you think I got it?”

She turned to him, and suddenly they were staring into each other’s eyes, drinking in the other’s presence. Barry cleared his throat.

“Thanks for making me feel less alone in the world, Iris.”

“Barry,” Iris said softly, searching his eyes. “Always.”

They leaned in to kiss. A great wheezing, groaning sound picked up with the wind behind them, followed by the creak of a door.

“Heya, Barry, Iris. Hope we’re not too late, are we?”

Barry and Iris broke apart, turning to look at the Doctor and Yaz as they stepped out of the TARDIS.

“We had a couple errands to run,” the Doctor explained. “Plus, sending all the children home and back to their own timelines. I think we’re ready for the rest of the exhibits now, aren’t we?”

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” said Yaz. “How’re ya holding up, Bar?”

“Good,” Barry nodded. “Good, yeah.”

“No Graham or Ryan today?” Iris asked. The Doctor shook her head, leading the three back into STAR Labs.

“They wanted to stay on Earth for the moment, done with traveling for a while. Now! Where’s the woolly mammoth I’ve heard so much about?”

“She’s been a bit obsessed,” Yaz said to Iris. “Best to let her go on for a bit.”

“I don’t think she wants to leave,” Barry called, walking up to the giant. He gave the woolly mammoth a hug, laughing as someone snapped a pic. He patted her side, letting her go as she walked towards the TARDIS. The Doctor grinned, then grabbed Barry up in a hug. She held him at arm’s length, her eyes bright.

“Are ya really doing alright, Barry?”

“You have no idea how many people have asked me that today,” he snickered. “But really, Doctor – I am.” He took a deep breath. “My identity’s safe, my family and friends are too, and that’s pretty much all I can ask for.”

“STAR Labs still moving ahead with the renovations?” The Doctor asked. Barry nodded, about to answer when the crowd let out a big cheer.

“Speech speech speech speech!” everyone began yelling. Barry held up his hands in the air.

“Guys, no, not tonight –”

“I’ll do it!” Iris cried, raising her glass. The crowd applauded again as Iris began to speak.

“To my husband – who never turns down a chance to help others, no matter where he is. And – to all of us. Everyone I know who would always answer my call in a heartbeat if any one of us was in danger. Thank you. Now – let’s celebrate!”

The crowd dissolved into cheers and chaos again as everyone tipped back their drinks. Iris pulled Barry away from the Doctor and into a dance that stretched on till the early morning. By the time Wally and Barry had cleaned up the mess in record time, everyone else was pretty much asleep, all tired out from the night’s festivities. Barry leaned up against a wall, surveying the scene with bright, welcome eyes. He thought his heart would burst from just how happy he felt. And maybe that would fade tomorrow. Maybe the memories of the Museum would overwhelm him again, and maybe his speedforce healing would falter. But Barry knew that things would get better.

This party proved it.


	21. Epilogue

CENTRAL CITY

FIVE MONTHS LATER

Iris West-Allen was woken up by a scream.

She threw back the covers upon not finding her husband lying next to her. Their apartment was dark, shrouded in midnight. Gingerly, she stepped out of bed and flipped the lamp on. All was still. All was quiet. Too quiet.

Her phone buzzed, the small sound piercing the silence. She grabbed it, freezing in place as she heard someone muttering at the foot of the bed.

“Barry?” she called. Slowly, she crept around the bed to see her husband sitting on the ground, staring into the darkness. Iris sat next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders as she gently shushed him.

“Barry, it’s okay,” she soothed. “Elliott’s gone, he’s miles and miles away. He won’t ever come here again.”

“No,” Barry whispered. He got up and ran to the door, yanking it open. Nothing was there. Iris stood up.

“No one’s here, Barry. I swear.”

He turned to look at her, the haunted look in his eyes returning with every passing moment.

“He was here, Iris. I saw him, for real this time. He’s back.”

“Barry, no –” Iris stepped forward. Barry stepped back, raising a shaking hand and pointing at her.

“I see him, Iris. And he’s not leaving until he gets what he wants.”

Iris took another cautious step forward, already pressing the help button on the STAR Labs app on her phone.

“Which is?”

“Death, Iris,” Barry said, looking her in the eyes. “Death to us all.”


End file.
